


SUPREME COUNCIL, 33° 

A.-.A.\ S.-.R.-. 

Southern Jurisdiction, U.S.A. 
Washington, D.C. 

Class No 


















“ ‘ Well done, 


Louis! ’ ” 


P. 74. 



CECIL’S KNIGHT 


V‘ 

Ef B.^ HOLLIS, 

1 1 


Author op “Cecil’s Summer,” “Cecil’s Cousins,” “Words and 
Deeds,” “ Glimpses Through,” “ Katharine’s 
Experience,” Etc. 


“ Euer Leben ist eine Ritterschaft.” 

Luther. 

“ But dream not helm and harness 
The sign of valor true ; 

Peace hath higher tests of manhood 
Than battle ever knew.” 

Whittier. 



THOMAS Y. CROWELL & CO. 

13 Astor Place. 


?Zj 

■ K 726 

cLd f y Xs 


Copyright, 

By Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. 
1889. 


Exch mnge- « 

ry Of Supreme Council A.A.SJJ, 

AU8 10. 1940 


Typography p.y J. S. Cushing & Co., Boston. 


CONTENTS. 


Chapter I. 
Chapter IT. . 
Chapter III. . 
Chapter IY. . 
Chapter Y. . 
Chapter VI. . 
Chapter VII. 
Chapter VIII. 
Chapter IX. . 
Chapter X. . 
Chapter XI. . 
Chapter XII. 
Chapter XIII. 
Chapter XIV, 
Chapter XV. . 
Chapter XVI. 


PA«E 

5 

41 

51 

63 

80 

133 

143 

163 

179 

199 

236 

255 

275 

293 

308 

329 




CECIL’S KNICrHT. 


CHAPTER I. 

“ Sir Lancelot, as became a noble knight, 

Was gracious to all ladies. 

For manners are not idle, but the fruit 
Of loyal nature, and of noble mind.” 

— Tennyson’s Guinevere. 

HHHE afternoon sun shone brightly on the large 
playground belonging to the grammar school 
of West Warren. 

The scholars were very proud of that play- 
ground, and it certainly was a pleasant place. 
Most of it was bright and sunny, but two or three 
great trees, on the side nearest the street, gave 
refreshing shade, and benches were placed around 
their trunks, which seldom lacked occupants. 

Some of the boys, at their teacher’s suggestion, 
had brought suitable earth, and made tiny flower- 
beds, for which the girls had supplied seeds and 
plants, and the needed care. They had been wisely 
placed close to the wall, as much out of the way 


6 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


of harm as possible ; but even there, though no 
one would wilfully have injured them, accidents 
so often happened to them, that it had been found 
needful to protect them by a kind of rough fence, 
made of shingles and bits of board, driven ob- 
liquely into the earth, so that they formed a rude 
roof over them. 

Grass grew around the borders wherever it 
could get a chance, but it might as well have tried 
to grow in the middle of Broadway, as in the 
middle of this playground. The earth was trod- 
den down hard and firm under the ceaseless im- 
pact of so many feet, and for a wide space there 
was no vestige of the green carpet which had 
once covered it. Children and grass do not grow 
together, and it was only another instance of the 
“ survival of the fittest.” 

At this hour the playground was empty, and it 
lay basking in the warm sunshine as if it rejoiced 
in the interval of restful quiet. But the interval 
was not a long one. 

There had been a continuous murmur of voices 
from the schoolhouse, occasionally varied by the 
louder tones of some extra zealous pupil, but it 
ceased now. The tinkle of a bell was heard, and 
in a moment, as if by magic, the quiet playground 
was transformed into something which resembled 
an ant-heap, whose inhabitants have just been 
disturbed, except that the ants’ activity is noise- 
less, — to human ears, at least, — while every 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


7 


tongue in this assembly was in exercise, contrib- 
uting its quota to the deafening noise. 

“ Where’s Louis Thorne ? ” one of the boys 
exclaimed, after a vain search among the swarm 
for his particular friend. “Has anybody seen 
him? He can’t have gone home.” 

“ Not he,” another answered. “ He stayed be- 
hind, at Miss Rawson’s desk. Didn’t you see 
him? He is mooning away over that sum about 
the interest at three and a half per cent for three 
months, that none of us could make come right, 
and Miss Rawson said she would explain it to us 
after school, if we wanted to stop. Catch me 
staying in for that! I get explanations enough 
in school hours, without going in for extras. 
Come along now, Harry, and see the ball game.” 

“ Not yet,” Harry said. “ Go along, and I’ll 
come directly. I’m going to wait for Louis.” 

“ Oh, bother ! ” John returned. “ He knows the 
way, I guess, and he’s big enough to go alone.” 

“ So are you,” said Harry. 

“ Barnum ought to get you two fellows to show 
off for Siamese twins,” John went on. “Here’s 
your other half coming now. I hope you have 
got your money matters all settled, young man. 
Why need you puzzle yourself about interest, I 
should like to know? You haven’t any money to 
lend, and are not likely to have any.” 

“ How long is it since you set up for a proph- 
et ? ” inquired Harry, before Louis could speak. 


8 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


“ My father says money earned sticks better than 
money given. You and I are nothing but objects 
of charity anyway, for every penny in our pockets 
was given to us, but Louis earns honestly all he 
has. He is the only independent one in the crowd. 
I dare say he will be able to buy you out, ten 
years from now.” 

“ Yes, that’s likely, isn’t it ? ” John said scorn- 
fully. 

“May want to borrow, if I can’t lend,” Louis 
remarked, quite undisturbed, “ and I should want 
to know how to reckon interest for one as much 
as the other. Might get cheated, you know. 
Thanks to Miss Rawson, I’m ready for either, as 
far as that goes.” 

“ Then you’re all right,” John said ; “ I’m glad 
to hear it. Now, if you’ve got that off your mind, 
and are sure you feel quite easy, come along, and 
see the Jacksons beat the Millville men. Here’s 
Harry wouldn’t stir a step till you came, and we 
have lost all the first of it already.” 

“ Oh, that’s too bad,” Louis said, “ for I can’t 
go ; I wish — no, there’s no use in wishing ; I can’t 
go, Harry, though it was good of you to wait for 
me. But how happens it that they play to-day? 
I thought that match was put off. They said 
Tom Jackson had hurt his hand, and couldn’t 
play.” 

“ Nonsense ! ” John retorted politely ; “ I guess 
the world isn’t going to stand still, just because 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


9 


Tom Jackson’s thumb is broken. There’s plenty 
more men lying round loose. They’re thick as 
blackberries, and jump at the chance. Will 
Adams takes Tom’s place. But don’t stand here 
talking; come along with us. It’s ridiculous to 
say you can’t go, when we know you can if you 
choose. Your mother won’t say anything, and 
your father — ” 

“ That’s enough,” Louis interrupted hastily, in 
a put-an-end-to-it tone. “ You had better stop 
there ! I can’t go, I tell you. Have it that I 
don’t choose to go, if you like it any better. It 
amounts to the same thing. And I’m sure I don’t 
know what you call ‘standing here talking.’ I 
should say that we had been making pretty good 
time towards that ball ground. You will be there 
now in five minutes, . if you run half as fast as you 
did when Mr. Leavitt’s dog was after you.” 

John shook his fisi at him in jesting menace. 

“I’ll talk to you when I come back, young 
man ! ” he said. “ Come, Harry.” 

And off he ran, at the top of his speed. 

“ I wish you could come,” Harry stayed to say. 
“ You don’t have any fun nowadays.” 

“ Not so bad as that,” Louis said as cheerfully 
as he could. “ I shall make up for it by and by. 
Don’t waste your time here pitying me, but catch 
up with John, and give the Jacksons an extra 
cheer, — a good loud one, — and charge it to my 
account.” 


10 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


“ All right ! ” Harry said, and he followed John, 
while Louis pursued his solitary way. 

He felt rather disconsolate, notwithstanding 
his brave words. When he turned the next cor- 
ner, the sound of distant shouts reached his ears, 
and he could even see the black dots moving over 
the field, which he knew a nearer approach would 
resolve into the redoubtable Jacksons and the 
Millville nine. He had all a boy’s natural long- 
ing for that game, and Conscience had a hard 
struggle with Inclination, to keep his feet from 
carrying him in that direction. 

“ It does seem rather hard, as Harry said, that 
I can’t have even that little bit of fun,” he said to 
himself, as he walked slowly on. “ I don’t believe 
there is another boy in school who couldn’t go, if 
he wanted to. It seems to be. all play for the rest, 
and all work for me, and I think it is pretty hard 
lines.” 

Discontent is a plant of wonderfully rapid 
growth, and requires very little culture. It 
comes up like Jonah’s gourd. It was a rare thing 
for it to get a chance to grow at all in Louis’ 
garden, the ground was so preoccupied with other 
things. But this little seed had found lodgment, 
and had sprung up, and was sending its tiny roots 
around in all directions, in search of nourishment. 

Louis summoned up and put in array before 
himself every unpleasant thing in his lot that he 
could call to mind, from the unattainable ball 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


11 


game to the one great trial of his life, and came 
to the natural conclusion that he was a very ill- 
used individual. 

It was a most unusual frame of mind for the 
bright, merry boy, but clouds hide the sun some- 
times from every one. 

His usual brisk step had changed to a slow 
walk, and he even found an odd kind of satisfac- 
tion in the long list of troubles which he was able 
to count up. That many of them were trifles, 
which, in a better mood, he would laugh at, made 
no difference. Through blue glasses everything 
looks blue. 

He went moodily along, noticing nothing, until 
he turned the last corner, and saw his mother 
watching for him. She was standing at the door, 
knitting busily, while she looked up the street. 
Her skilful fingers were so used to their work, 
that the needles seemed to fly of their own accord, 
with no attention from her. A quick revulsion 
of feeling came over Louis as he looked at her. 

“ What a fool I am ! ” he said half aloud. “ Not 
a fellow in school has got a mother like mine. If 
they had, they would be glad enough of a chance 
to work for her. I wonder where her chance for 
ball games or any other fun comes in ! She 
would enjoy some other things as much as I 
should that, but she never gets them. The dear 
little mother ! If anybody has a hard time, I am 
sure she does, but nobody ever yet saw her sulk- 


12 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


ing over it ; and just look at me ! With such a 
mother as I have got, it is a pity if I can’t behave 
better than this. I’m glad she didn’t see me com- 
ing along here, growling like a bear. She gives 
me credit for more sense.” 

The very sight of her had cleared the clouds 
out of his sky. He broke into his usual merry 
whistle, for which his little sister, from her sick 
bed, always listened when it was time for him to 
come from school; and he quickened his steps 
into a run which presently brought him to his 
mother’s side. 

“ Here we are again ! ” he said ; and under the 
influence of his repentant thoughts he gave her 
a rough boyish caress. 

He did not often do such a thing; he did it 
with a kind of shy awkwardness now; but it 
brought a little color to her cheek, and made her 
heart glad. 

Mothers may be very sure of their boys’ love, 
but none the less is a little token of it, now and 
then, welcome to them. 

“ What brings you out here ? ” he went on. 
“Were you looking for me? Isn’t it cooler in 
the house ? ” 

“ There’s not much difference,” she said. “ The 
air seems very sultry anywhere. Yes, I was 
watching for you. You are a little later than 
usual, or perhaps it only seems so because I have 
been looking for you.” 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


13 


“ I think it is a little late,” Louis said. “ Did 
you want me for anything ? ” 

“ Mr. Lawrence wanted you,” she replied. “ He 
stopped at the gate, as he was driving by, to ask 
if» you would go and help to get in his hay. He 
thought Harry would be with you, and he was 
going to tell him to hurry home, and go to work. 
Where is he ? ” 

“ On the ball-ground,” Louis said. 

“ Well, it can’t be helped then,” Mrs. Thorne 
said ; “ but he wanted both of you, for he is short 
of hands. I promised to send you as soon as you 
came. He says there is a shower coming up, and 
he wants the hay under cover before it gets here. 
You are to take your rake. I’ll get it for you, 
while you change your jacket.” 

“ Oh, I can’t stop for that,” Louis said, feeling 
the importance of being wanted in a hurry. “ I 
shall have it off two minutes after I get there, and 
I’ll take good care of it; but the rain won’t wait 
for jackets. I’ll get the rake.” 

“ How lucky it was that I didn’t go with the 
boys,” he reflected, as he hastened off to the hay- 
field. “I should have lost this chance if I had. 
I knew the hoe wanted me, but I didn’t know the 
rake did, or I would have hurried home, instead 
of dawdling along, pitying myself, in such a per- 
fectly ridiculous way. One thing is sure — I won’t 
be caught doing that thing again. I wish Harry 
had come with me, for his father will be dis- 


14 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


pleased. That cloud must be made of ink, and I 
guess he was right about the shower’s coming. 
How fast it moves ! ” 

He found a busy scene at the hay-field. Mr. 
Lawrence had a heavy crop in what he called 
“ first-class shape for the barn,” and he was strain- 
ing every nerve to get it in before the shower 
should come. His powerful horses drew the great 
loads to the barn, and came back with the empty 
wagons at a most inspiring pace. They really 
seemed to enter fully into the spirit of the thing. 

The men in the field were kept busy, filling the 
carts with hay, pitching up great forkfuls which 
threatened to cover up the man who was stationed 
on top of the load to receive it, and who had all 
he could do to keep his head above it, and to 
place it so that it should not slide off. Some of it 
did reach the ground again, in spite of his efforts, 
and Louis and his rake were kept busy. 

He enjoyed it hugely. The race with the rain 
was as exciting, in its way, as the ball game. 
Everybody was working at the top of his speed, 
warned by the muttering thunder, and the few 
large drops which began to fall, that the time was 
short ; and when, by dint of urging his willing 
horses to a rapid trot, Mr. Lawrence drove the 
last heaped-up load under shelter, just as the rain 
began to come down in earnest, there was a gen- 
eral cheer, in which Louis’ boyish treble joined 
heartily with the heavier voices of the men. 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


15 


Margaret, by Mr. Lawrence’s directions, brought 
out a large pitcher of “switchel,” — a cool com- 
pound of molasses, vinegar, ginger, and water, — 
for their refreshment, and they stood around in 
the large barn, drinking it, cooling off after their 
exertions, discussing their victory, and laughing 
over the comic incidents of their hurry, which 
they could not stop to notice when they happened. 

Louis thought it was very pleasant there, 
breathing the perfume of the sweet hay, listening 
to the rush of the rain without, and its continuous 
patter on the roof, resting after the violent exer- 
tions he had been making, and enjoying the merry 
talk that was going on around him. 

“ How perfectly soaked Harry and the rest of 
them must be getting ! ” he thought. “ I do hope 
the Jacksons had time to beat before the deluge 
came.” 

He stood in the wide door- way, and watched 
the descending streams, with a delightful sense of 
shelter and comfort. 

“ There, I believe the worst of it is over,” one 
of the men said after a while, coming to the door 
to look round. 

“ Yes,” Louis agreed. “ It doesn’t stop raining 
yet, but I can almost see blue sky.” 

“ Don’t count your chickens before they are 
hatched,” said another. “ There’s a pretty black 
cloud over there, that may have something to say 
about it.” 


16 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


“There will be a lull, anyway, before it gets 
ready to say anything,” the first speaker replied ; 
“and before it takes the floor for an oration, I 
believe I shall make a dash for home.” 

In fact, in a few minutes the rain did almost 
cease, and the men improved the opportunity to 
set forth. 

“ Stop a minute, Louis,” Mr. Lawrence said, as 
he was going with them. “ You are going off 
without your pay. You have worked like a hero 
to-day, and here’s your money. And you had 
better take this old umbrella. You have farther 
to go than the others, and you may get caught, 
for I agree with Jack that it is going to rain 
again. I can’t say much for the beauty of the 
thing; but you are not a dude, and won’t mind the 
looks. It may be useful, if it isn’t ornamental. 
Bring it back safe, next time you come over, for 
it was my grandmother’s, and the old lady thought 
a great deal of it, though it has fallen from its 
high estate now, and I keep it out here, for use in 
an emergency.” 

“ Thank you, sir,” Louis said. “ I will bring it 
back to-morrow.” 

“ Is he to carry the umbrella, or is the umbrella 
to carry him?” asked one of the men, who had 
stopped to brush some of the dust off, and draw 
on his coat. “ Hard to tell which is the biggest ! 
If the wind blows in this style, and you spread all 
that sail, Louis, you will go up like a balloon ! ” 


CECIL’S KNIGHT . 


17 


“ Don’t I wish I could ? It would be great fun,” 
Louis said, “ if one could only steer.” 

But he started, carrying the unwieldy thing 
tightly furled. It was raining only a little then ; 
but it seemed that the lull in the storm was only 
for the purpose of allowing the clouds to gather 
up their forces, for soon the torrents began to fall 
again. Louis trudged on, splashing through the 
puddles with his bare feet, and rather enjoying 
the whole thing. 

For a considerable distance he had the street 
and the rain to himself, but at length he saw a 
lady, who had ju&t come from a side street, stand- 
ing on the sidewalk, very imperfectly shielded 
from the rain by a small parasol, and looking 
anxiously up and down the street. She evidently 
wanted to cross to the other side, but the heavy 
shower had filled the gutter until the water was 
too deep to be stepped into, and too wide to be 
jumped over. 

Why, as true as you live, it’s Miss Hunting- 
ton ! ” Louis exclaimed, and he ran to join her. 

Through all the rush of the storm she heard 
the “ slap, slap ” of the boy’s bare feet on the side- 
walk, and turned a laughing face to greet him. 

“ Did you bring a boat, by any chance, Louis,” 
she said merrily. “ I’m afraid I don’t know how 
to swim ! My education in that line has been 
neglected, and now these two great rivers roll 
between me and the other sidewalk, where I must 
go. Can your ingenuity suggest anything? ” 


18 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


Louis took a view of the situation. It seemed 
hopeless at first. Then his eyes brightened. 

“ Just wait a minute, please, and hold this for 
me,” he said, giving her the big umbrella. 

“Wait for these rivers to flow by, or to dry 
up?” she laughed, looking down at the yellow 
depths at her feet. “ I really don’t see that I can 
do anything but wait, unless I go back.” 

But without staying to hear her reply, Louis 
was off, going back on the road by which he came. 

“ How the boy can run ! ” she commented, as 
he disappeared from sight. “And how little 
those bare feet care whether they step on land or 
water! He gets over the ground as if a police- 
man was after him, or a circus was in front of 
him. Where can he be going ? ” 

Presently he came in sight again. His rate of 
speed was lessened somewhat, for he carried a 
board in his arms. It had suddenly occurred to 
him that he had seen carpenters at work at Mr. 
White’s, as he passed, and he had hastened thither, 
and readily obtained a loan of the board. 

“ There ! ” he said, coming up, panting. “ I 
can’t carry you across, and I can’t bring a boat, 
but I can build a bridge, so that you will go over 
dry shod ; ” and he triumphantly laid the board 
across the gutter, and offered his hand to steady 
her through the transit ; then, picking it up, he 
crossed the street with her, and bridged the other 
gutter in the same way. 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


19 


“I’m very much obliged to you, Sir Walter,” 
Miss Cecil said, when she was safely on the other 
side. 

“ I’m sure you are very welcome,” he returned, 
with instinctive politeness. “I’m only too glad 
of a chance to do anything for you. You won’t 
need to cross the street again, if you are only 
going home, so I’ll put our bridge up here by this 
tree until to-morrow, — it will do just as well to 
carry it back then, — if you will let me hold my 
umbrella over you. That little thing of yours is 
no good in this downpour, though it is rather 
prettier to look at than this.” 

“ I shall be very glad,” she replied cordially. 
“ I ought not to have started, but I thought the 
shower was over, and I was anxious to get home. 
This 4 little thing,’ that you despise so much, was 
only meant for sunshine. It does its duty then 
perfectly, though it finds the rain too much for it. 
If you will take it for a minute, I will try my 
skill with that mighty machine of yours,” she 
added, for he was wrestling valiantly with the 
long-unused spring, which refused to respond to 
his efforts. 

44 Oh, you couldn’t do anything with it,” he 
said, with a little masculine superiority. 44 It is 
as stiff as — There she comes ! ” as the rebellious 
spring unexpectedly surrendered; and in another 
moment the despised sunshade was closed, and 
the two were walking under complete shelter, 
while the rain poured unheeded around them. 


20 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


“ I feel as if I was under a cathedral roof ! ” 
Miss Cecil said, looking up at the vast expanse of 
faded green over her head. 

“It is like carrying a tent,” Louis responded. 
“ Mr. Lawrence only said it was his grandmother’s, 
hut I think it must have come over in the May- 
flower ! ” 

“ Do you know that the first man who carried 
an umbrella in England was laughed at ? ” Miss 
Huntington asked. “ The people thought it was 
very unmanly to be afraid of rain, and they ridi- 
culed him unmercifully. Indeed, I am not sure 
that they did not go beyond ridicule ; I think I 
have read that they stoned him.” 

“ Did he give in, and shut it up ? ” Louis asked, 
much interested. 

“ If he had, perhaps we might have been out in 
the rain now,” she said, “instead of having the 
shelter of this spacious canopy. No; anything that 
is really useful is sure to make its way in the 
world, in spite of ridicule or abuse. Merit tells in 
the end. But I don’t know whether it was possi- 
ble to shut that first specimen. I am inclined to 
think it wasn’t. I have seen pictures of it, and in 
comparison with them, this heirloom of Mr. Law- 
rence’s is a model of convenience and elegance.” 

“Well, if it could be shut, the more they 
laughed, the more I would not shut it,” Louis 
averred. “What business was it of theirs, any- 
way? I don’t believe in being laughed out of 
things.” 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


21 


“ Is that so ? I’m glad to hear it,” Miss Cecil 
said, with a half-smile. “ But when you overtook 
me, why were you walking in the rain with a closed 
umbrella in your hand ? ” 

“Oh — well — ” he said, “I don’t mind rain^ 
And then it is too big for one. You see I have 
opened it now that there are two to walk under 
it.” 

“ Yes, I see ; of course you will give me your 
moral support, if we should happen to meet any 
of my friends, so that I need not mind if they 
laugh at this extensive green dome ? ” Miss Cecil 
suggested, with a mischievous look. 

He tried to keep a grave face, but did not suc- 
ceed. 

“On second thoughts, I believe I won’t say 
anything more about the Englishman,” he said. 
“ How do you always know what a fellow is 
thinking? Can’t we talk about something else? 
Why did you call me Sir Walter, a little while 
ago?” . 

“ I suppose I was thinking of another English- 
man,” she said. “You have heard of Queen 
Elizabeth? She came to a muddy place in the 
road one day, and while she hesitated about put- 
ting her foot in the mire, Sir Walter Raleigh took 
off his rich cloak, and threw it down for her to 
step on, so that she might go over dry shod. I 
dare say she stood looking for the best place to 
step, just as I was doing when you came to my 
relief.” 


22 CECIL'S KNIGHT. 

“ But I had no cloak for you,” Louis said, “ and 
even Sir Walter’s would not have helped you over 
those gutters.” 

“Certainly not,” Miss Huntington said. “Your 
bridge answered the purpose much better. The 
nineteenth century uses more sensible means than 
the sixteenth, but I think the knightly spirit was 
the same in Sir Walter Raleigh and in Louis 
Thorne.” 

“ You speak as if it was a good thing,” he said, 
laughing, “ so I am glad I had it, though I’m sure 
I don’t know what it is. I must own that all I 
thought of was that you wanted to get across the 
street.” 

“ Exactly,” she replied, “ and then your first 
impulse was to help me to do it. Don’t you know 
that helping ladies in distress, or, indeed, any one 
who was in trouble, was just what the knights of 
old made it their business to do ? ” 

“Well,’* he said, with a shy boyish gallantry 
that was pleasant to see, “ if they liked it as much 
as I do, they must have had a pleasant life ! I 
think I should like to be a knight.” 

“ Ah, but it cost them a good deal sometimes,” 
she responded; “and that was not all they did. 
They went about the world, redressing wrongs, 
defending the weak against the oppression of the 
strong. They were gentle and courteous to 
women, whether they were of high or low degree ; 
they were tender and reverent to those whom 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


28 


God had afflicted ; and when the trumpet sounded 
for battle, the knight who was so gentle and 
courteous in his lady’s bower, showed that he 
could be brave and fearless in fight.” 

Louis drew a long breath. 

“ There’s plenty of room in the world for such 
a knight now,” Miss Cecil said, with full under- 
standing of his thought, “ and plenty of work for 
him to do. The lance he lays in rest may not be 
of ash and iron, and his enemies do not appear in 
bodily shape before him ; but weapon and foe are 
just as real as they were in the olden time, and I 
think they are harder to conquer. The battle is 
no child’s play.” 

“ I suppose I know what you mean,” Louis said, 
“ if it is the kind of fight you were telling us of 
two or three weeks ago, in Sunday-school; but, 
for my part, I’d rather fight an enemy that I can 
see and touch. I should know when he was on 
his back then, and there would be some comfort 
in trying to put him there. All the enemies of 
the kind you mean, that I ever had anything to 
do with, are sure to pop up again as good as new, 
when I think I have killed them as dead as Julius 
Csesar. They seem to have as many lives as a 
cat.” 

Miss Cecil smiled at his earnestness. 

“ But what kind of a knight do you think that 
would be,” she asked, “ who wanted to select his 
own opponents, instead of being ready to meet all 


24 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


comers, and who always took care to pick out 
some feeble fellow whom he was sure of beating ? 
I fancy you would be one of the first to call out, 

‘ Shame on you ! Take one of your own size ! ’ 
Don't you see that the harder the fight is, the 
greater the victory is ? ” 

Miss Huntington had her eyes bent on the 
ground instead of looking at Louis, as she talked, 
for some care was needed to pick her way safely 
among the puddles, so she was startled when his 
response came in the shape of a shout. 

“ Halloa there, you Bill Simmons ! Stop that ! ” 

And the next instant he had put the big um- 
brella into Miss Cecil’s hands with a hasty “ Take 
this, please ; I’ll be back in a minute,” and before 
her fingers had fairly closed upon it he was off. 

While she had been picking her way daintily 
among the puddles, his bare feet had traversed 
dry land and wet with equal indifference, and his 
eyes had been at liberty to see what was to be 
seen, instead of being confined to the ground, as 
hers had been. 

So it happened that while she saw nothing, he 
had seen, some distance before them, two boys, 
Avho were creating amusement for themselves by 
dragging an unfortunate kitten through the deep- 
est puddles they could find, and taking a cruel 
pleasure in its fruitless struggles and pitiful cries. 
A minute’s sharp run brought him up to them. 

“For shame ! ” he exclaimed, with hot indigna- 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


25 


tion. “How can you be so cruel, Bill Simmons? 
What do you want to torment that poor thing 
for ? ” 

“ Who do you think you air, Mr. Louis Thorne?” 
the boy returned insolently. “ it’s no business of 
yours, anyway ; and if you will have the goodness 
to look after your own affairs, I’ll look after mine. 
The cat don’t belong to you nor any of your re- 
lations.” 

“ Nor to you ! ” Louis said, at a venture. “ And 
it is my business, and always will be, to stop such 
cruelty whenever I see it, if it is a possible thing.” 

The poor kitten could not have understood the 
dialogue, but by some unknown means it did seem 
to understand that it had found a defender, for it 
crawled feebly up to him, and laid its head down 
upon his foot. 

No words could have made a more eloquent 
appeal. It went to Louis’ heart. He felt that the 
helpless creature trusted itself to him, and he 
silently resolved to prove himself worthy of the 
trust. He stooped to pick it up, but his opponent 
only laughed. “ Yes, all that’s very fine, I dare 
say, but you see ’taint a ‘possible thing’ this time. 
It takes two to make a bargain,” he said, sneer- 
ingly, and as he spoke he. pulled the string which 
was round the poor thing’s neck, with such a sud- 
den jerk that the sharp claws, by whose means 
it was trying to hold itself back, passed over 
Louis’ bare foot, and left a bloody line behind 


26 CECIL’S KNIGHT. 

them, while the innocent cause of the injury was 
floundering desperately in a deep pool. 

“Did its darling pet pussy scratch it with its 
cunning little claws ? ” Simmons said tauntingly. 
“ Guess you’ll be content to let the cat alone 
now ! ” 

For all answer, Louis caught at the string and 
pulled the kitten out at the risk of choking it, 
receiving a blow in the face in return. In another 
minute the two boys were wrestling together, not 
according to the rules of the ring, but in true boy- 
ish fashion, with more good will than science. 

Bill Simmons was a little the larger of the two ; 
but still they were fairly well matched, so that 
each felt he had a chance for victory, and meant 
to win it. With arms tightly locked around each 
other, they swayed back and forth, each using his 
utmost efforts either to throw his opponent down 
by main strength, or to trip him up by a skilful 
turn. 

The struggle lasted a minute or two, and then 
both boys were down in the mud ; but that did not 
appear to trouble them. Through the whole con- 
test neither of them said a word. They had no 
breath to waste in talking. 

But by the time Cecil reached them, with a re- 
monstrance upon her lips, Louis had got the upper 
hand. He held the other boy firmly down, and 
demanded : — 

“ Will you cry 4 enough,’ or do you want some 
more ? ” 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


27 


There was a little delay in answering, and the 
victor tightened his hold, to show that he was in 
condition to dictate the terms of surrender. The 
hint was sufficient. 

“ * Nuff ! ” was the response, sulkily given. 

“ And will you promise to let the cat alone ? ” 
Louis stipulated. 

“ What do 1 want of your old cat ? ” Bill Sim- 
mons growled. “ You may keep her in a glass 
case, for all I care.” 

“ All right, then,” Louis said ; and considering 
his victory complete, he released his captive, who 
lost no time in taking his departure, muttering 
threats as he went. 

The smaller boy, instead of supporting his com- 
panion, had fled at the beginning of the fray. 

Louis was picking his hat out of the water, 
when Miss Huntington came upon the scene. 

“ Can this be you, fighting in this way, Louis ? ” 
she said with a shocked voice. “ What had that 
boy done to you, that you should rush at him and 
attack him like that? I can hardly believe my 
own eyes.” 

Like too many other people, Cecil Huntington 
sometimes jumped to a conclusion, when she knew 
only half the facts in the case. Louis had left her 
abruptly, and the next moment she saw him fight- 
ing, and it certainly looked to her like a clear case 
of unprovoked assault. Still, it was unlike any- 
thing she had seen of Louis before, and she could 


28 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


not imagine why he should leave her in such a 
way, and rush so suddenly into such a fight, un- 
less it was only the continuation of some boyish 
quarrel. 

Louis looked surprised at her tone of reproof, 
and exclaimed : — 

“ Why, Miss Huntington ! ” 

Then, as her meaning dawned upon him, he 
laughed a little at the idea of his caring enough 
for his late opponent to quarrel with him. 

“I’ve nothing to do with Bill Simmons, one 
way or another, as a general thing,” he said ; 
44 and I didn’t 4 rush at him ; on my own account. 
I’ll show you the reason, if you will wait a min- 
ute — if I can find it ! ” 

He began to look about for the innocent cause 
of the combat. The poor kitten was too much 
exhausted at the treatment it had received, to 
go far, and after some searching he discovered it 
behind a clump of bushes, where it had taken 
refuge, and brought it to Miss Cecil. 

44 They were killing it by inches,” he explained, 
44 when I saw them, and I couldn’t stand it, so I 
rushed to the rescue.” 

Miss Cecil was mollified at once. 

44 Oh, the poor little thing ! ” she exclaimed 
compassionately. 

It was a most forlorn object, half-starved, be- 
draggled, half-choked by the cord still tied round 
its neck, and mewing piteously. 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


29 


“If we could only get that string off,” Louis 
said ; “ but I haven’t got a knife.” 

“Nor I,” said Miss Cecil. “We must untie it.” 

Louis was doubtful of their ability to do it; 
but he took the umbrella from her, and held the 
kitten, while she struggled with the knot. It was 
a work of time, for it had been tightly drawn, and 
the string was wet ; but she accomplished it at last, 
and then took the miserable animal into her own 
keeping. 

Louis hesitated about going on with her, and 
looked doubtfully at his muddy clothes, not think- 
ing himself fit to walk beside her ; but she soon 
disposed of his scruples. 

“It is only the stains of the battle-field,” she 
said. “I am glad there is nothing more than 
water can wash away. Now, I call that a knightly 
deed,” she said, as they walked on. “ That was 
a good beginning, Louis ; I beg your pardon for 
thinking you were doing wrong : I ought to have 
known better.” 

“ Oh, that’s all right,” Louis said hastily. “ I 
suppo.se it did look queer, and I couldn’t stop to 
explain. But I thought you meant people when 
you said knights ‘ defended the weak.’ Did you 
mean cats ? ” 

“ Cats, or anything else needing defence which 
you can give,” she answered. “I am sure this 
poor thing was weak, and was glad to have you 
use your strength for her.” 


30 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


“ She’s very welcome,” Louis said, stroking the 
little helpless creature curled up warmly in Miss 
Huntington’s arms. “ She won’t be half a bad- 
looking kitten when she gets dry, and fats up a 
little. But I really think it would be a comfort 
when one was doing a knightly thing, to know it. 
I have blundered into it twice, it seems ; but it is 
no credit to me, for I did not even know it until 
you told me. And you see I don’t know what to 
look for ! I can’t always find a cat to save from 
Bill Simmons, or be lucky enough to meet you in 
a muddy street.” 

“ Thank you,” she said, smiling. “ I can’t prom- 
ise to get caught in showers, to give you an op- 
portunity to show your chivalry. Your chance 
will probably come in some other shape the next 
time. It will not always be forlorn cats, or dis- 
tressed damsels, but you will know it when you 
see it. The Golden Rule is a good motto for a 
modern knight. When you can do for another 
anything that you would like to have done for 
you, there’s your chance. But here I am at home, 
and I suppose I must give your kitten up to you. 
Only see how cosily she has curled down on my 
arm; the warmth must comfort her, for she has 
actually begun to purr. She would be very pretty 
if she was not so thin.” 

“ But I am sure I do not know what to do with 
her,” Louis said, in some perplexity. “I don’t 
think I ought to take her home. My mother 
would not want her.” 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


31 


“ Then perhaps you will let me keep her,” Miss 
Cecil said quickly. “ I was sorry to give her up, 
even to you; but you had the first right to her. 
She is the captive of your lance and spear, you 
know ; so she is at your disposal, Sir Louis. She 
owes her life to you.” 

44 Then I will make my rights over to you,” he 
said gladly. 44 If she is a sensible cat, she will be 
very willing to be half drowned for the sake of 
getting such a home. I hope you are not very 
wet. Good by.” 

44 Good by,” she returned, “ and many thanks 
to you. You are wet, if I am not, and you must 
hurry home, and get on dry clothes. Otherwise, 
you should come in, and see our kitty made com- 
fortable. But I shall see you in our Sunday- 
school class to-morrow, and you shall hear of her 
welfare. I intend to make her look like another 
creature in a few days.” 

With a little gesture of adieu, she went into the 
house, and Louis pursued his homeward way. 
The shower seemed to have settled down into 
a steady rain, but he did not notice it. 

He was thinking how fortunate he had been in 
overtaking Miss Cecil, and having his pleasant 
walk with her. All the boys of her class were 
glad of a chance to do anything for her. He 
wished some of them had seen her walking under 
his umbrella with him. 

Then he began to think how much the history 


32 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


of the afternoon would interest his little sister, 
who had to take all her glimpses of out-door life 
through his eyes. 

He would tell her, too, wdiat Miss Cecil had said 
about the knights. He meant to be one. If it 
was only keeping the Golden Rule, surely he 
could. It would be very easy, so far as he could 
see, and very pleasant. 

But just at this point the course of his thoughts 
received a sudden check. 

A little way in front of him, he saw a fat Irish 
woman trudging along in the rain. She was push- 
ing before her a little cart, evidently of home man- 
ufacture, for it was constructed of a shoe box 
mounted on wheels. In one end of it was a bas- 
ket of soiled clothes, which she was taking home 
to wash, while in the other end sat a baby, rather 
crowded by the basket, and made so uncomforta- 
ble by the rain that it kept up a steady wailing 
cry. 

The mother was a big, good-natured, untidy- 
looking woman. Louis knew her. It was Maggie 
O’Brien, who supported her husband and children 
by her daily work, doing washing and house clean- 
ing. 

His first thought was one of amusement at the 
unconcerned way in which she walked through the 
rain ; his second, one of compassion, as he saw how 
wet both she and the baby were, and remembered 
that she had been working hard all day ; his third, 



“ ‘ Wouldn’t you like to take this umbrella ?’ ” — P. 33, 






























































, « 


, •• • •» 
* & 


• - * ' 


' . 



























CECILS KNIGHT. 


33 


of his big umbrella, and of a knight’s duty in the 
circumstances. 

It had been a great pleasure to escort Miss 
Huntington, but walking with Mrs. O’Brien was 
quite another thing. Still, there she was in the 
rain, and he had shelter for her. 

“Gentle and courteous to women, Miss Cecil 
said,” he reflected, “ whether they were of high or 
low degree. I suppose that means to be polite to 
a woman just because she is a woman, whether she 
is a lady or this big washerwoman. Then there’s 
that Golden Rule business. Well — at least I’m 
not obliged to walk with her ! I’m too wet to 
mind a little more rain* and it , may wash off some 
of the mud.” 

He hastened his^cp^^ little, and soon over- 
took her. 

“Good afternoon 0 ’.^Irs. O’Brien,” he said po- 
litely. “ You seemTo be getting wet. Wouldn’t 
you like to take this umbrella ? ” 

Mrs. O’Brien turned her round red face to him, 
shining with good-nature and rain-drops. He saw 
that she was pushing the cart with one hand, 
while §he held two or three bundles under her 
shawl with the other. 

“ Is it takin’ it I’d be, and lave ye z out in the 
rain ? ” she answered. “ Av coorse not ; but sure 
it’s a fine big wan, and there’s room for the two 
of us undher it. I’ll be obliged to ye for a piece 
of it, and ye’ll have plinty lift for yersilf.” 


34 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


Louis’ face was a study ; but he did not know 
how to refuse the kindness which she took so com- 
pletely for granted, and concealing his reluctance, 
of which he was somewhat ashamed, he walked 
beside her. But the good woman was much taller 
than her young escort, and as he carried the um- 
brella, it was continually hitting her head, so she 
presently proposed that he should give it to her to 
carry, while he pushed the little cart. 

“ Pretty business this ! ” he thought, as they made 
the exchange. “ If there is anything knightly about 
it, I don’t see it. I only hope we shan’t meet any 
of the boys. I should never hear the last of it. 
Luckily, we are almost at the O’Brien mansion.” 

He looked down the street, but no one was in 
sight ; so he felt more at his ease, and began to 
talk to his companion. 

She had been cleaning house, she said, at Judge 
Goodwin’s, and she had to take the baby with her, 
because the father was sick, and couldn’t be both- 
ered with it. 

“ I don’t think I could blame a sick man for not 
wanting to have it about, if it cries like this all 
the time,” Louis said, eyeing the wailing child 
with a certain disfavor. 

“Sure, he don’t, then,” the mother said eagerly. 
u Whisht, Mike, will ye ? He’s as good as gold, 
most times. There hasn’t been a word out of his 
mouth all the afternoon ; but now he’s hungry, and 
he’s wet like, and the crature hasn’t the sinse to 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


35 


know what’s the matther. Whist, now, will ye, 
Mike?” 

But no ; Mike declined to whisht, and only raised 
his voice higher, until his mother took him out 
of the cart, filling his place there with her bun- 
dles. Louis thought it was pretty hard for the 
tired woman to carry the heavy child, but even 
with the Golden Rule in mind, one must draw the 
line somewhere, and he drew it at carrying Mike 
in the street. His mother did not seem to think 
him a burden; she held him close against her 
warm bosom^ and he presently snuggled down con- 
tentedly, and forgot his discomfort in sleep. At 
his best, no one but his mother would have called 
him a pretty baby, but Louis thought he looked 
much better asleep than awake. 

They had reached the gate ; in another minute 
he would have seen his companions in the house, 
and been walking on alone, when a group of his 
schoolmates overtook them, announcing their 
presence by a laugh. 

“ Louis Thorne is going in to get washed and 
ironed,” said one. “ Looks as if he needed it.” 

“ Quite a family party, I declare,” said another. 
“Didn’t know Louis could do the paternal so 
well.” 

“ Been to Howe’s to have their pictures taken, 
I suppose,” suggested another. 

“ How much the dear baby looks like its papa,” 
remarked another, 


36 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


Louis was half inclined to be vexed, but his 
good sense came to his aid, and he did a wiser 
thing ; he joined in the laugh. Mrs. O’Brien was 
as much amused as any one. 

“It’s a rale gintleman, even if it was a little 
wan, that Mike would have for his papa thin,” she 
said, shaking her fat sides. “It wouldn’t hurt 
his beauty if he was the moral of him too. It 
isn’t every wan of yez who would be so willing to 
help a poor woman ! ” 

“ That’s so,” the boys responded. “ He’s a brick, 
and you’re another, Maggie.” 

“ Thank ye kindly,” she said, as Louis drew the 
cart up before her door. “ It’s your wife, when 
you’re big enough to get her, that’ll be the lucky 
gurl. An ’ if iver ye want any help that Maggie 
O’Brien can give, ye need only whisper, and she’ll 
come.” 

“ Oh, that’s all right. You are welcome,” Louis 
said ; and he ran home, feeling quite sure that her 
gratitude for the little kindness outweighed the 
boys’ ridicule. 

His mother’s face was a study when she saw 
him. 

“What is the matter, Louis?” she exclaimed. 
“ What can you have been doing ? How late you 
are, and how you look ! Do you know what a 
figure you are ? Where have you been ? ” 

“ How I look ? ” Louis repeated. 

Then he glanced down at himself, stepped up 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


37 


to the looking-glass, and gave an involuntary 
whistle. In the scuffle with Bill Simmons his 
jacket had been badly torn, and both jacket and 
trousers showed the effect of that roll in the mud, 
to which the wearer had been so indifferent. He 
was dismayed, but he hastily explained to his 
mother, while he pulled off the jacket. 

“ I wonder that Miss Huntington was willing to 
be seen with such a disreputable-looking boy,” 
Mrs. Thorne said, examining the rents. “ As for 
Maggie O’Brien, she is used to rags and dirt, but 
I think even she must have been a little ashamed 
of her escort.” 

Louis laughed a little consciously, quite aware 
that the shame, with much less reason, had been 
upon the other side. 

“ It is fortunate that I shall have time to mend 
it to-night,” his mother said, threading her needle 
as she spoke, “and you will have to take brush 
and sponge in hand.” 

“ If I could only get a new one — a truly new one, 
I mean,” he said, after watching her a minute, u I 
should like it. This one never was new, you know, 
because it was made out of an old coat in the be- 
ginning. It must be tired of living, and I don’t 
wonder that it gave up when Bill Simmons laid 
his hands on it.” 

“ I know, but there is no use in your thinking 
of a new one,” his mother said, shaking her head. 
“ It is entirely out of the question. I am only 


38 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


thankful that you have this one, forlorn as it looks 
now, and you must make it last as long as possi- 
ble, though I am afraid it will not look very much 
better after I have done my best for it.” 

“ That’s rather hard,” Louis said soberly ; “ for 
even your fingers can never make that thing look 
decently again.” 

“ It is a pity that you did not change it for the 
other before you went to the hay-field,” she said. 

“ But the other really is not fit to be seen,” he 
interrupted. 

“ It would have saved this,” she said, “ and now 
you will have to be content with some patches and 
darns, and the worst of it is, that I have no pieces 
like it.” 

He made a wry face ; then seeing that his 
mother was really troubled about it, he forced a 
laugh, and said : — 

“ Oh well, I guess I can stand it until our ship 
comes in. We’ll hope people will think it is some 
new kind of embroidery ! ” 

“It’s a kind that will never be very popular,” 
Mrs. Thorne said, rummaging in her piece-bag. 
“ But a darn or a patch is better than a hole, since 
we can only choose the least of the two evils. 
Now, your bread and milk is ready for you in the 
pantry, and when you have eaten it, go in to see 
Freda. She has been watching a long time for 
you.” 

“ Then I’ll take my milk in there, and eat my 
supper with her,” Louis said. 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


39 


He came back with his bowl of milk and a 
plate of bread, and went into his little sister’s 
room with them. 

“Here we are, Freda!” he said gayly. “Would 
you like to have a tea-party here, without the tea, 
and without the party ? Because the tea is only 
milk, and the party is only me ! ” 

“ It is all the better,” the little girl said, raising 
herself in bed, with her eyes brightening, and a 
little color coming in her pale cheeks. “ I don’t 
want any more party than just you, yourself. Sit 
down here, please, where I can see you, while you 
eat your supper, and tell me all you have been 
doing.” 

“ The telling can wait better than the eating, 
I guess,” he said, drawing his chair up beside the 
bed. “ I’ve got quite a long story for you to-night, 
about umbrellas, and cats, and Irish babies; but 
you will have to exercise patience for a little 
while. You have no idea how hungry I am. I 
believe I could eat six such bowls of bread and 
milk if I had them. It is lucky that you are so 
thin, or I might turn cannibal and eat you ! ” 

“ How nice it must be to be so hungry,” Freda 
said wistfully, watching the swift journeys of the 
spoon between the bowl and his mouth. It seemed 
strange to her that any one could care for food ; 
but Louis ate as if he relished every mouthful. 
Her own meals were only a trouble to her, since 
she had no appetite, and yet wanted to please her 
mother by eating as much as she could. 


40 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


“ Nice to be hungry ? ” Louis repeated, scraping 
the last crumbs from his bowl. “Well, I don’t 
know. That depends on whether you can get 
supper enough. It would be worse for you than 
for me, you see, because you haven’t got a little 
sister to eat ! I think small appetites must be con- 
venient sometimes. Harry said this noon that he 
was hungry enough to eat an ox behind the horns ; 
but then, if you haven’t got the ox to eat, you 
know, there you are ! Never mind ; you’ll be hun- 
gry enough soon, when you are able to go out 
doors again. I just wish you could have been 
with me this afternoon.” 

Therewith he plunged into a history of his day, 
going into all sorts of little particulars, down to 
the color of the kitten, and the funny cap, with a 
button on the top for a handle, that Mike O’Brien 
wore, so that he made quite a long story of it. 
It was not too long for Freda, however, as he well 
knew, and she listened to it all with the deepest 
interest. 

This was the happiest hour of the twenty-four 
to the poor invalid child ; she looked forward to 
it all day long ; and Louis, on his side, had formed 
the habit of treasuring up all the little events of 
the day for her amusement, and never went into 
her room without a bright face. 

He would have opened his blue eyes in astonish- 
ment if Miss Huntington had told him that he was 
doing the devoir of a true knight in doing this, 
but it was none the less true. 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


41 


CHAPTER II. 


“ At this she cast her eyes upon her dress, 

And thought it never yet had looked so mean. 
For as a leaf in mid-November is 
To what it was in mid-October, seemed 
The dress that now she looked on, to the dress 
She looked on ere the coming of Geraint.” 


— Tennyson’s Enid. 



OME, my son,” Mrs. Thorne said, opening 


the door of Louis’ room, Sunday morning. 
“It is high time that you were up and dressed. 
Breakfast is almost ready.” 

“ Why, mother ! ” he exclaimed, feeling very 
much ashamed of himself ; but she had gone, and 
there was nothing to be done but to dress as 
quickly as possible. 

When there is no work to be done at an early 
hour, it makes less difference if one does consult 
only his own wishes, instead of the clock; but 
Louis had something to do, and was conscious 
that lie had neglected it. In every family the 
work that one, self-indulgently, leaves undone, 
some other, self-sacrificingly, must do, or the ma- 
chinery of the household would soon be in confu- 
sion. 

Louis did not belong to the class of boys who 


42 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


like to throw their burdens upon others whenever 
it is possible. Lighting the fire in the kitchen 
was one of his regular morning duties; then he 
filled the tea-kettle, laid the breakfast-table, and 
made the coffee. He took great pleasure in help- 
ing his mother in this way. It was nothing that 
she required of him, but was the voluntary service 
of love. 

He remembered her surprise the first day that 
she found everything ready for her, and the re- 
solve he had made then, that she should always 
find it so ; and he was ashamed that he had left 
her to take up her old tasks this morning. He 
knew she had been at work for him until almost 
midnight. 

He could not even plead that he had overslept, 
for he had been wide awake for a long time ; only, 
instead of springing up, according to his custom, 
as soon as his eyes were fairly open, he had been 
lying quietly in bed, gazing at the clothes which 
he ought to have been putting on, and lost in 
thought concerning them. 

He hurried them on now, and ran down stairs. 
He found his breakfast waiting ; and, after dispos- 
ing of it with his usual healthy morning appetite, 
he made the only apology possible for his lateness 
by confessing the truth. 

“ It’s all owing to these clothes, mother, — my 
Sunday-every-day suit,” he said. 

He had faithfully tried the virtues of sponge 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


43 


and brush to remove the traces of yesterday’s 
mishap, and his mother’s skilful needle had done 
its best in repairing damages ; but, after all their 
pains, the result was far from satisfactory to him. 
No skill could make the old look like new. 

“ I lay there, looking at the old things, till I 
fairly got into a rage with them,” he said, half 
laughing ; “ and so I forgot all about the fire and 
everything else. My mind won’t hold two ideas 
at once. It isn’t that you haven’t done the very 
best that anybody could do with them, mother 
dear, but only look at me ! ” 

He stood up that she might take in the whole 
effect. 

“ Do you wonder that I hate to go about look- 
ing so shabby ? ” he said. 

44 Do you think I like to have you ? I would 
help it if I could,” Mrs. Thorne said, beginning to 
gather up her dishes. u But 1 would rather have 
you shabby outside than in. I would not think 
about it any more to-day, since it can’t be helped. 
It is fortunate that 4 your mind won’t hold two 
ideas at a time.’ Fill it so full of something else 
that there will be no room for jackets in it. You 
haven’t any too much time to study your Sunday- 
school lesson before the bell rings. Just take 
your book into Freda’s room, and study there, 
while I get her breakfast ready.” 

44 I’d rather stay with her to-day. I can get my 
lesson just the same, and recite it to you,” he said, 


44 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


with a quick glance to see how the suggestion was 
received. “ I don’t think I feel quite well to-day, 
besides ; and I’d rather stay at home,” 

“ Oh, indisposed ? ” Mrs. Thorne said, with a 
little twitch in the corners of her mouth. “I 
have heard your Uncle Charles say, that when he 
was in college, a student went to Professor Dure, 
to get excused from church on your plea. The 
professor pushed his spectacles up on his forehead, 
to see him better, and said in his squeaky voice : 
‘ Ah ! Indisposed ? Is it a physical or a mental 
indisposition, young gentleman ? ’ I think yours 
must be mental. Your good appetite a few min- 
utes ago was not a symptom of very severe ill- 
ness.” 

“ But I think my head does ache a little,” Louis 
persisted, putting his hand to his forehead, as if to 
assure himself of the fact. 

“ Does it ? Then you must be taken care of 
before it gets worse,” she said gravely. “Of 
course you can’t go to church. There is nothing 
like taking things in time, and I can’t afford to 
have you sick just now. You had better go back 
to bed, and I will get a dose of castor oil for you 
before I wash my dishes.” 

Louis made a wry face, but he could not help 
laughing ; and his mother laughed with him. 

“ I guess we’ll do without that horrid stuff this 
time,’ he said. “ The very thought of it would 
frighten away the worst ache I ever had. But 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


45 


truly, mother, I don’t want to go to church in this 
rig. It was bad enough before, when it was only 
half outgrown; but Bill Simmons’ handling has 
not improved it. I didn’t think I was going to 
pay such a price for my kitten. You don’t know 
how nice the other boys look ; and I should feel 
like a tramp among them, all shrunk up and 
patched up and darned up ! ” 

Mrs. Thorne did not answer for a minute or 
two. She seemed to be considering, and he hoped 
his arguments had convinced her. 

“ I am as sorry about it as you can he, Louis,” 
she said at last. “ I should like to have my boy 
dressed as well as his mates; and if we could 
afford it, you should have a new suit to-morrow. 
I meant to get you one this week. But now I am 
afraid it will be a good while before we have 
money enough for that. And, in the meantime, 
saying nothing of the right and wrong of it, I am 
sure you don’t want to stay away from church and 
Sabbath-school and day-school, and hide yourself 
at home week after week, just for a shabby 
jacket?” 

“ Why, no,” Louis admitted ; “ I shouldn’t like 
to doThat.” 

“ Then isn’t it better to face the trouble bravely 
at the outset?” she asked. “Would it be any 
easier next week ? ” 

“ Why, no,” he said again. “ But I am sure I 
could earn some of the money myself, so it need 
not be very long.” 


46 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


His mother shook her head. 

“ I have something unpleasant to tell you,” she 
said. “ While you were away yesterday, Mr. 
Brown called for my bonnets ; but he did not 
bring me any more straw. He said Craig & 
Harris had failed. The shop was going to be 
closed, and no more work would be given out.” 

“No more straw work!” Louis exclaimed in 
dismay. “ But, mother, what are we going to live 
on ? What shall we do ? ” 

“ I don’t know yet,” she said ; “ but since we 
must live on something, we must find a way to 
earn it. We won’t give up so soon as this. 
There’s always some way out of every trouble. 
And isn’t it a good thing that I have my boy to 
help me out of this ? ” she said, patting his shoul- 
der. “ I did not mean to tell you the bad news 
to-day ; but you can see now that it is no time for 
us to think of new clothes, no matter how much 
we need them. The money I had saved for your 
new suit, and whatever either of us can earn, will 
have to go for other things. You see why I am 
thankful that you have even a patched jacket.” 

“Well,” Louis said, summoning up his courage, 
and determining not to be wanting in giving the 
help on which his mother seemed to rely, “I 
guess, between us, we can manage it. There’s the 
rent, for we must have a roof over our heads. 
And something to eat must come first, that’s 
plain, when a fellow has such an outrageous appe- 


CECIL’S KNIGHT . 


47 


tite as I have. I do believe I eat five times as 
much as you do. Why didn’t you tell me before 
breakfast ? ” 

“ I should be frightened if you did not eat more 
than I do,” Mrs. Thorne said, smiling at his odd 
tone of self-reproach. “ Remember that you have 
to provide food for growth. You need not lay 
any plans for semi-starvation, for I shall not con- 
sent to them. I am glad to see my boy growing 
into a strong, vigorous man, and so I mean he shall 
have enough to eat, though it will have to be very 
plain food for awhile. That may be no misfortune 
in the end; plain, simple food is healthy, and, at 
the worst, I am sure we can get enough bread and 
milk and oatmeal to supply our needs.” 

“ And if I can’t find a way to earn my share of 
it, and a little more, I shall deserve to go hungry,” 
Louis said. “ Perhaps Mr. Lawrence will have 
some more work for me ; or, if he doesn’t, T can 
go berrying.” 

^ There will be time enough to see about that 
to-morrow,” his mother said. “ Try not to think 
of it to-day. And don’t think abqjit your jacket 
more than you can help. If anything reminds you 
of it, just remember that you have no right to 
dress Better than you can afford, and have no right 
to stay away from church, as long as your clothes 
are decent, just because they are not as nice as 
you would like them to be, or as other people’s 
are. A patch is better than a debt, and the condi- 


48 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


tion of the jacket isn’t of so much importance as 
the condition of the heart it covers. You may be 
very sure that you think about your clothes much 
more than any one else thinks about them ! ” 

“ I’m all right while I’m listening to you, and I 
think I can face anybody, but 1 know very well 
that when I am out of your sight — and in other 
people’s ! — it will be another thing. However, 
matters might be worse,” Louis said, looking over 
himself. “ Nobody can say that these are not 
whole and clean. If I could only keep from out- 
growing them so fast ! ” 

“We will hope that we shall get out of this dark 
place into the light,” Mrs. Thorne answered cheer- 
fully, “before you have time to outgrow them 
much more. And in the meantime, you have a 
chance to show that you are not a coward. I 
think it is very possible that some of the boys 
may laugh at you. Show that you are not afraid 
of a laugh. Be brave enough to go straight on 
your own way.” 

“ There’s Miss Cecil’s knight again,” Louis 
thought. “I suppose this is the shape my chance 
takes this time, but a stand-up fight with Bill 
Simmons would be nothing to it.” 

Aloud, he only said, “All right, mother, I’ll 
try, but don’t expect too much from me, or you 
may be disappointed. Now, since I’m going to 
church, the first thing must be this lesson,” 


CECIL’S KNIGHT . 


49 


He took his books into Freda’s room, as his 
mother had suggested, and did his best to fix his 
thoughts on the lesson. He was not expected to 
amuse Freda now. Her mother knew that his 
mere presence in the room would be pleasure 
enough for her. To the little invalid child, the 
nearness of the strong, healthy boy was a delight ; 
his stories of the little happenings of every day, 
of his amusements and companions, were better 
than fairy tales. He seemed to impart to her 
some of his own overflowing vitality. 

She knew that he was busy this morning, and 
she was perfectly contented to lie still, and look 
at him without interrupting him. When he had 
plenty of time Sunday morning, he often made her 
happy by asking her to find some references for 
him, the idea of helping him was so delightful to 
her ; but he was in too much haste for that to-day, 
and he studied in silence until the church bells 
began to ring. Then he gathered up his books. 

“ Good-by, Freda,” he said. “ It has been dull 
music for you this morning, but we’ll make up for 
it by and by. I shall get a nice book from the 
library, and read it to you when I come home.” 

It gave him no trouble to say the few kind 
words, but they were enough to make his little 
sister’s eyes sparkle with pleasure, and the prom- 
ise gave her something to anticipate, and bright- 
ened the whole day for her. 


50 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


It did not once occur to him that he had done 
another knightly deed. He would have been the 
first to laugh at the idea. Yet the true chivalric 
spirit had prompted him, the protecting tender- 
ness of strength to weakness. 


51 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


CHAPTER III. 



ERY few people were in the church when 


V Louis reached it, for he had purposely started 
a little earlier than usual, with that end in view. 
No one seemed to take any notice of him, and he 
hastened to shelter himself in his pew, where he 
felt safe from observation, and could occupy him- 
self with watching others come in. 

When the services began, he soon forgot all his 
troubles. He was very fond of music, and two or 
three of his favorite stirring hymns were sung. 
He listened for Miss Huntington’s voice, he liked 
so much to hear that, and she even gave him a 
tiny nod in the midst of the exultant strains of 
“ The year of jubilee has come,” which said to him 
as plainly as words, “We enjoy this, don’t we?” 

Then a strange minister came in with Mr. Rus- 
sell, and preached for him. He proved to be a 
missionary from India, and instead of a sermon, 
he gave them a familiar talk, which Louis liked 
much better. He told a great many interesting 
things about the religion, and customs, and ways 
of living, of the Hindoos, and Louis listened 
eagerly, not only on his own account, but for his 
mother and Freda, for he wanted to be able to tell 
them about the strange things he had heard. 


52 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


“What a silly fellow I should have been if I 
had stayed at home, and lost all this, just for this 
old jacket ! ” he remarked confidentially to him- 
self. “ It is a good thing for me that my mother 
has more sense than I have. She said I thought 
more about my clothes than anybody else did, and 
it seems to be true, for everybody has been listen- 
ing with all his ears, and nobody has looked at me, 
or cared whether I aiti dressed in rags or velvet ! ” 
Miss Huntington made it a rule to be always 
early in her place in Sunday-school, ready to wel- 
come the members of her class as they came in, 
and, perhaps in consequence of this custom, they 
generally came so punctually that there was time 
for a chat of two or three minutes before the school 
was called to order. 

She used this time to make them feel that she 
was interested in everything that concerned them. 
To-day she asked Harry Lawrence about his 
brother, who had just come home after a year’s 
absence in California; congratulated Willie Rus- 
sell, who was the proud possessor of the first of 
the school prizes ; inquired about George Baker’s 
mother, who had been sick ; and said to Louis : — 
“ Our kitten is doing nicely. She has quite re- 
covered from yesterday’s shock, and seems to feel 
perfectly at home. She is going to be very pretty. 
You must come and see how Ulla pets her, and 
what cunning ways she has.” 

“You say 4 our kitten,’ as if it was common 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


58 


property,” Harry remarked. “ Have you gone 
into partnership with Louis ? ” 

“ I suppose that is about it,” she said, “ as far as 
that bit of very movable property is concerned. 
We own it together.” 

She had just time to tell the story of the kit- 
ten’s rescue before the bell rang for the opening 
exercises. Talking longer was against the rules 
then ; but the boys managed to convey a sense of 
their interest and approbation to Louis by signifi- 
cant looks and gestures, before they gave their 
attention to the superintendent. 

Speeches from visitors were not regarded with 
much favor in that school. Dr. Gardiner held the 
opinion that the teachers and scholars came there 
for their lessons, and wanted the time for them. 

But to-day the preacher of the morning was 
allowed to speak to the children for five minutes. 
It seemed a very short time ; but he wasted none 
of it in apology or preface, and really contrived to 
pack a good deal into it. 

Then the primary class went to its room, and 
the ufeual business of the hour began. A hum of 
voices rose all over the room. 

In Miss Huntington’s class, the first thing was 
an explanation of something in last week’s lesson. 
A question had been asked which she found her- 
self unable to answer on the spur of the moment ; 
and she had promised to look the matter up, and 
report to-day. 


54 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


Then she occasionally gave special topics to 
two or three members of the class, who were to 
find out all they could about them. Sometimes 
they found very little, but at other times they 
really did very well. Their report came before 
the lesson was taken up, and always seemed to 
excite their interest in it. 

To-day their lesson was upon the heroism of 
Daniel. Willie Russell gave a little sketch of his 
life, Louis described his character, and Harry was 
called upon for points in which he was a model for 
imitation. The others added their suggestions, 
until the old prophet began to seem a real man to 
them, instead of only a character in a book ; and 
they took hold of the lesson, to learn something 
more about him, with great zest. 

Dr. Gardiner smiled as he glanced at them, 
while he was going about the room, from class to 
class, attending to his duties as superintendent. 
They were talking eagerly, now turning to their 
Bibles for references, then looking up at Miss 
Huntington again, and evidently were very much 
interested. 

“ There’s no need of any further anxiety about 
those boys,” he said to himself. “ Cecil has found 
the key that the other teachers failed to find. 
Somebody ought to recognize my wisdom in putting 
her in that place, for that bit of credit certainly 
belongs to me. I fancy her boys agree with me in 
thinking her 4 wisest, virtuousest, discreetest, best,’ 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


55 


— and sweetest — of Avomen ! They . are very 
sensible boys ! ” 

When the warning-bell struck, the class whose 
judgment was so highly esteemed by the superin- 
tendent Avas still in full tide of talk ; but their 
teacher checked them. 

“There is the bell. We shall have to stop 
here,” she said. 

“ That bell is always ringing just when nobody 
Avants to hear it,” Horace grumbled. “ I should 
like to steal it ! ” 

“ I think Dr. Gardiner has put us on a short 
allowance of time to-day,” Harry said, turning 
half round to see the clock. 

“ No ; we have had as much time as usual,” Miss 
Cecil said ; “ but Ave have only a minute more 
now. Willie, after all our talk about Daniel, can 
you tell me the one chief thing of which he is an 
example to us ? ” 

“ Unflinching loyalty to God,” Willie said 
promptly, “ at all times and places, without think- 
ing of consequences.” 

“ That is it,” said his teacher. “ Loyalty in 
things that seem trifling, as well as in those that 
seem more important; in things that led to dis- 
grace and danger, as well as those that led to re- 
ward and honor. His motto, if he had one, might 
have been ‘Love and Loyalty before all.’ And 
that is the reason why that most honorable of all 
honorable titles was gi\'en to him by the angel 


56 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


with whom he talked. 4 Daniel, man greatly be- 
loved.’ I wish we might all follow his example : 
make the law of God our rule of life as he did, 
and be as earnest and resolute in obeying it.” 

Then she gave out the topics for report for the 
next lesson, and finished with an invitation for the 
class to spend an evening at her house during the 
week. Harry Lawrence acted as spokesman for 
all, and thanked her in courteous terms ; for she 
treated them like gentlemen, and they felt bound 
to live up to the idea which they saw she had of 
them. 

Several were engaged elsewhere for the evening 
which she first named, and she made a change. 

44 Let us see,” she said. 44 1 have an engagement 
myself for to-morrow night, but the next night — 
Are you all free Tuesday night? Then that will 
do, and I will expect you all at seven o’clock.” 

The school was dismissed, and Louis was in the 
street again before it occurred to him that he had 
not once thought of the thing which had troubled 
him so much in the morning. When the measure 
is full of wheat, there is no room for chaff, and 
Miss Huntington had kept his thoughts busy with 
other things. 

But the sore subject was brought to his remem- 
brance now, by his happening to see Fanny Ray 
shrug her shoulders as she looked at him, and 
then whisper something to her sister, at which 
they both laughed. 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


57 


He tried to remember his mother’s counsel, and 
to convince himself that he did not care what they 
said, or how much they laughed at him, but the ' 
attempt was rather a failure, for he knew he did 
care. Pretty Fanny Ray had but little idea how 
much her thoughtless laugh had hurt him. 

He was brooding over it, and unconsciously 
hurrying to get home as soon as possible, when he 
heard a low whistle behind him, and then his own 
name, and he turned to see Harry Lawrence com- 
ing up at a brisk walk. 

“ What a hurry you are in, old fellow ! ” Harry 
said, falling into step with him. “ Why didn’t 
you wait for me ? I couldn’t get to you when we 
came out of school, because everybody stopped 
me, and wanted to ask about Richard, and to hear 
how he liked California. They couldn’t possibly 
wait till they saw him, and let him speak for him- 
self! And I have been trying to overtake you, 
ever since you turned the corner, but the more 
steam I put on, the more you did, so you kept just 
so far ahead of me, and I began to think I should 
have to shock Miss Jones by breaking into a run. 
Whom were you trying to catch ? ” 

“ Nobody. I didn’t know that I was walking - 
any faster than usual,” Louis said. 

“ Training for a pedestrian contest in the Rink, 

I should think,” Harry returned. “ Come, suppose 
you slow up now. There’s no hurry, and it’s too 
hot to go at this rate. I say, isn’t Miss Hunting- 


58 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


ton splendid? We are in luck, after having such 
a time with our teachers, handed over from one 
to another like a bad penny, to get her at last.” 

“ That’s a fact,” Louis agreed. 

“I don’t believe any of us will forget Daniel 
in a hurry, after to-day,” Harry went on. “ For 
my part, I almost feel as if I had known him some- 
time. I had no idea that there was so much in 
that lesson, and I gave it some extra study, too. 
Besides, wasn’t she good about your kitten ? Miss 
Jones would have lectured you for fialf an hour 
on the sin of fighting to get it, and here Miss Cecil 
just takes the poor thing home in her own arms, 
and feeds it herself, I’ll be bound. She spoke as 
if she really cared for it. I do hope you gave that 
rascally Bill Simmons what he deserved ? ” 

“No, I don’t think I did,” Louis said, laughing. 
“ It would be a long job, he deserves so much ! 
But he gave up the kitten, and he said he had 
enough.” 

“He’ll come in for the rest some day,” Harry 
comforted himself. “ He’s just aching for a good 
thrashing, and I should like to see him get it ! I 
don’t take much stock in his idea of 4 enough ’ ; I 
should be liberal for once, and give him more than 
he wanted. But then, such people are pretty apt 
to get their deserts, sooner or later. He didn’t 
hurt you, did he ? ” 

“ No ; it was my jacket that was hurt,” Louis 
said rather ruefully, showing the scars of the com- 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


59 


bat; “and I think I would rather have had it 
myself, under the circumstances ! ” 

Harry whistled under his breath. 

“ Did he do that ? ” he said. “ I wondered what 
made you come to church in that style.” 

Then as he saw Louis color painfully, he realized 
the blunder he had made, and gave himself a men- 
tal shake for his heedlessness. He hastened to 
say the most consoling thing he could think of at 
the moment, trying to atone for his thoughtless 
words, like the good-hearted boy that he was. 

“ Never mind, old fellow,” he said, clapping his 
shoulder; “I don’t believe another person there 
noticed it. I shouldn’t myself, most likely, only 
I sat next to you in class, you know. People have 
something else to do, besides looking at us.” 

“If you had seen Fanny and Carrie Ray just 
now, you wouldn’t say that,” Louis said bitterly. 
“ They know when a boy looks decently. I should 
think you would be ashamed to be seen walking 
with me.” 

“ I’m not, then ! And girls ! ” Harry said in a 
tone of great contempt. “ What do we care for a 
parcel of girls ? All they think of is crimping and 
prinking.” 

“ Excepting Lily Russell, I suppose,” said Louis. 

Harry laughed a little, but went on : — 

“ And I do think Fanny Ray is the silliest of 
the lot. What need you care for what she says, I 
should like to know ? Any fool can buy a dandy 


60 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


jacket, if he has got money enough, but everybody 
with any sense knows that the boy inside the 
jacket is the main thing.” 

“ I know the boy inside doesn’t enjoy it much,” 
Louis said. 

“ See here,” said Harry, “ can you tell what a 
single boy in the class had on to-day, from cap to 
shoe ? ” 

“No,” Louis answered, “I can’t; but I know 
there was a row of nicely dressed boys, and a 
shabby fellow at the end of it, who looked as if 
he had no business to be with them.” 

“ Did they act as if they thought so ? ” demanded 
Harry. “ I should like to know if you think you 
are treating the rest of us fairly ? Do you mean 
to hint that you would take the other side of the 
road, if you had worn a new jacket to church, and 
I had an old one ? No, I thought not. Then why 
can’t you believe that other people have as much 
sense as you ? As long as you are yourself, Louis 
Thorne, I don’t think anybody is going to be 
ashamed to be seen with you, even if you have to 
wear a blanket, Mexican fashion, with a hole cut 
in the middle to put your head through.” 

“ It may come to that yet,” Louis said, laughing 
in spite of himself, and feeling much comforted 
by Harry’s tirade, “ for I don’t see any prospect of 
getting a new jacket at present.” 

“Well,” Harry said, “then we’ll be thankful 
that you’ve got this. It will last a while longer, 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


61 


till you can get another, and you must let me 
fight the next battle for kittens. You won’t need 
that blanket just yet, so don’t lie awake nights 
thinking about it. Good by till to-morrow, old 
fellow.” 

And he turned off to take the short cut through 
the fields to his own home, singing cheerily as he 
went, for his own pleasure, and for Louis’ comfort, 
the words they had sung in Sunday-school that 
day: — 

“ Dare to be a Daniel, 

Dare to stand alone ! 

Dare to have a purpose firm, 

Dare to make it known ! ” 

Louis looked after the straight, slender figure, 
in its trim Sunday suit, and only when he was 
quite sure that his friend was well out of hearing, 
remarked to him : — 

“ Oh, it’s very easy for you to talk ! I dare say 
I could do it in your place ; but you don’t know 
how it feels.” 

Still, his heart felt lighter. Sympathy may not 
lift an ounce, but yet it does help the burden- 
bearer. He went into the house with a much 
more cheerful face than it had seemed possible, a 
little while before, that he could show. He met 
his mother’s questioning look with a smile, chatted 
cheerfully while he ate his dinner, repeated as 
much of the address and the Sunday-school lesson 
as he could remember, to his mother and sister, 


62 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


and at last sat down to read the promised book to 
Freda. 

Anxiety for the future was weighing on his 
mother’s heart ; but Louis was only a boy, and the 
trouble or the pleasure of the present still sufficed 
for him. His book proved to be an interesting 
one, and reader and listener were soon absorbed 
in it. 

Mrs. Thorne sat by the window, where Louis’ 
voice fell upon her ear, but lost in her own 
thoughts, she could not have told what he was 
reading. An occasional laugh, or exclamation 
from him or Freda, made her look up for an in- 
stant, now and then, but she relapsed into her 
reverie again without speaking. 

And so the shades of night closed around them. 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


68 


CHAPTER IV. 

“ Some find work where some find rest, 

And so the weary world goes on ; 

I sometimes wonder which is best ; 

The answer comes when life is gone.” 

— Father Ryan. 

OUIS’ first waking impression the next morn- 
ing was a vague sense that something was 
wrong. He had an uncomfortable feeling that 
something disagreeable had happened, or was go- 
ing to happen, though he could not tell what it 
was. 

Gradually, as he shook off his sleep, it came 
back to his mind, that he had heard bad news 
yesterday, that the straw shop had closed, and the 
income wdiich his mother’s never idle hands had 
earned from it was a thing of the past. 

What was to be done now? He felt a new and 
not unpleasant sense of responsibility, such as the 
“ man of the house ” should feel. 

If his mother could get no work, and therefore 
could not provide the little family with food, the 
duty naturally came to him next in order, for 
they must have something to eat, — there was 
no need of arguing about «that while his morning 


64 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


appetite spoke so plainly, — and there was no one 
else to get it. Besides, she had said, “ What we 
earn must go for food,” which showed that she 
expected him to do his share. 

He was quite ready. If he had known the lines, 
he ‘would have said, “The world’s mine oyster, 
which I with sword will open.” 

Contrary to his custom, for the second time that 
week, he did not spring up as soon as he was fairly 
awake. He thought that the circumstances justi- 
fied him in lying quietly a few miilutes to revolve 
various plans in his mind. How could he think 
them over, while he was busy with all sorts of 
things, as he would be when he was once out 
of bed? 

Of course, he could not go to school any more, 
he decided. On many accounts he was very sorry 
for that, but it couldn’t be helped. Study must 
give place to work. 

He might go to the city, and sell newspapers ; 
there was always a chance to make money in the 
city ; and a newsboy needed so little capital. He 
was tempted to call out “ Tribune ! ’ Erald ! ” 

just to see if he could give the real newsboy shout, 
as he had heard it given ; but he wisely postponed 
it till his mother and Freda should be awake. That 
reminded him of a difficulty. They might not like 
to have him leave them, even if he sent his earnings 
home every week, and sometimes came himself. 

Then, would it be fetter to get a place in a 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


65 


store, — there were several boys no older than he 
at “ Mandell & Lawton’s,” — or should he see if 
Mr. Lawrence had any more work for him; or 
should he devote himself to the berries? Even 
that might do, while they lasted: he was a fast 
picker, he said to himself with a little pride. 

He had read books in which boys, younger than 
he, were represented as succeeding wonderfully in 
supporting a whole family ; and why might not 
he do as much as they? He was sure Miss Cecil 
would say that this was true knightly work. 

By some connection of ideas, that reminded him 
of something she had once said about doing the 
nearest duty. That was without doubt to be 
found at the kitchen stove, for the fire must be 
made, whether there was anything to be cooked 
with it or not ; and he sprang up and began dress- 
ing in great haste, trying to recover the lost time. 
But time once lost is like quicksilver dropped on 
the ground, not easily gathered again. 

Before he was ready, Mrs. Thorne came to ask 
if he was sick, since he was so late, and told him 
that the fire was already burning. He was very 
much ashamed of the beginning he had made. 
Dreaming of the great things he would do, and 
planning for them, while his mother did the 
little things he ought to have done ! 

He went about his work very silently ; but she 
prepared the usual simple breakfast, and took her 
share of it, told of seeing some children go by 


66 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


after berries, talked of the eggs she hoped Louis 
would find, and wanted the usual work done, all 
just as though the sky had not fallen ! Louis 
could not understand it. 

The morning, on the whole, seemed so much 
like every other morning, and everything went on 
so exactly in its usual course, that he felt tempted 
to rub his eyes, and wake from his dream of an 
empty purse, and the wonderful things he would 
do to fill it. 

He hinted as much to his mother, while she 
was preparing Freda’s breakfast. It had to be 
daintier than their own, for the little invalid’s 
appetite needed coaxing. Mrs. Thorne laughed 
a little at his idea of their condition. 

“Did you think we were going to have no 
breakfast?” she said. “We are poor enough, 
certainly, just now, but at least we have enough 
for to-day, and we will try and take no thought 
for to-morrow.” 

She did not tell him that she had fought that 
battle out the night before. He was glad that 
she could laugh. The very sound cheered him. 

“We are not going to the town farm just yet,” 
she went on; “I have the money for my last straw 
work, and your earnings of. Saturday, and we will 
hope that we shall find means to earn more before 
this is quite gone. Don’t let us borrow trouble, 
Louis.” 

“No; wc have quite enough of our own,” he 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


67 


said ; but he said it in a different tone, and she 
was satisfied. 

But she put a decided veto on all the wise plans 
which he had spent so much time over in the 
early morning, and which had seemed so feasible 
to him. 

“ There is no use in your thinking about such 
things,” she said with a decision that he knew was 
immovable. “ You will not give up your school 
as long as we can manage to keep you there. A 
boy’s school days come only once, and if for any 
reason he is deprived of them, he regrets it only 
once, — but that once lasts for his lifetime. I 
don’t mean to starve you mentally any more than 
bodily, if we can help it. You shall have as 
much of a chance for study as I can give you, and 
it depends on you to say whether you will im- 
prove it or not.” 

“ Of course I will,” Louis said ; “ only I think 
I ought to be at work.” 

“ I am glad you want to help,” she said, “ and 
I think you will find a chance. Work as much 
as you like, before and after school ; it will be a 
change, and won’t hurt you, and we shall need all 
you can earn ; but while you are in school, study 
Avith a will, and make the most of your chance 
there. I don’t want my son to grow up an igno- 
rant man.” 

There was an odd mingling of thoughts in 
Louis’ mind. He could not have told whether he 


68 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


was more glad or sorry. He liked to study, but 
it was rather a downfall for him, after his rose- 
colored visions of the morning concerning the 
great things he was going to do by way of prov- 
ing himself the support of the family, to find that 
he was nothing but a schoolboy, after all. He 
was sure his mother did not realize how great 
his help would be, or how much she would need 
it, for he could not think of any work that she 
could find to do. 

But he had sense enough to believe that she 
knew best what ought to be done, and he got his 
hat and books and went to school as usual, though 
he said he could not help leaving his mind at 
home. But he was fond of study, and soon be- 
came so much interested in a knotty problem that 
he had no thoughts to spare for anything else. 

When he went home at noon, Mrs. Thorne had 
news for him. Mr. Lawrence had called to say 
that if Louis would like to work for him out of 
school hours, he could give him something to do 
for a few days. 

“ Of course I would like it ! ” Louis said, in 
high delight. “ That makes a beginning, and it 
will bring in something. Did you tell him I 
would be glad to come ? The hay is all in, and I 
can’t think what I shall have to do. Did he say 
what it would be? Do you suppose Harry told 
him I wanted work ? ” 

“I think it is very likely that he did,” Mrs« 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


69 


Thorne said, not attempting to answer anything 
but the last question. “ But you never need be 
ashamed to ask for work. Why, Freda dear* what 
is the matter ? ” 

For Freda was crying quietly. 

“I shan’t see Louis at all, now,” she sobbed; 
“ and the days are so long.” 

“I know they must seem so to you, my poor 
darling,” her mother said, pityingly, “but you 
must try to be brave. Louis and I must work, you 
know, and I may not be able to get anything that 
I can do at home, as I did the straw, though I 
shall try, and it will be very hard for you, my 
dear little girl. But you want to take your share 
with us, don’t you? You must remember that 
bearing the loneliness, if we have to leave you by 
yourself, and keeping cheerful through all the 
long days, so that you may show us a bright face 
when we come home, is the part of the burden 
you will have to bear. I think it is heavier than 
ours, and I am very sorry for you, but I am sure 
you will try to be our brave little helper.” 

“ Yes, I will ! ” Freda said eagerly. 

“And I’ll tell you what we will do, Freda,” 
Louis said. “ You needn’t think you are not go- 
ing to see anything of me. I couldn’t stand that. 
The noon hour shall be yours. I will bring my 
dinner in here, and eat it with you, until you get 
well enough to be carried out into the other room. 
I am sure I don’t know why I never thought of it 


TO 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


before. See if we don’t have a good time ! And 
think how glad we shall be when I come home to- 
night ! ” 

Freda had dried her eyes while her mother was 
speaking, resolved to begin being brave, and doing 
her share at once ; but they sparkled now. 

“ Oh, Louis, you do think of the nicest things ! 
Can’t we begin to-day ? ” she said coaxingly. “ I 
should like it so much.” 

Mrs. Thorne agreed with Louis that it was 
strange that they had never thought of it before, 
and it ended in her preparing Freda’s dinner at 
once, and moving their little table into her room, 
so that the three dined together. 

A merry meal they made of it, in spite of the 
shadows around them, and Freda made a brave 
effort to keep a cheerful face when Louis gave her 
his good-by kiss, and said she would not see him 
until night, since he was going to walk home 
across the fields with Harry after school, and so 
begin his work sooner. He meant to work two or 
three hours before he came home for his supper. 

He half hoped that he should have Harry to 
work with him, the time would pass so much 
faster ; but no such good fortune was in store for 
him. 

They had their walk together, but Mr. Law- 
rence might have heard the old saying which has 
disgusted innumerable boys, “ One boy does some 
work, but two boys do none,” for when they 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


71 


reached the farm, he despatched Harry to the 
barn, to harness Brown Bess, and sent Louis to 
a field at some distance from the house, where he 
was to dig potatoes. 

The early potatoes on the Lawrence farm had a 
reputation of their own, and were always sure of 
a ready sale. Louis was rather disappointed when 
he found what his work was to be ; but there was 
nothing to be said, and he took his hoe, and 
trudged off. 

This was not like the stir and excitement of the 
hay-field, with wind blowing, and clouds coming 
up, and men and teams straining every nerve, and 
running a race against the rain. It was the first 
time he had been set to do steady, monotonous 
work, alone, with no one even to speak to, and he 
did not find it very pleasant. Still, the work was 
something that he could easily do. 

“ If Harry was here, it would be only fun,” he 
reflected ; “ we could run races with the potatoes, 
and see who could get a hundred first.” 

As it was, there was no fun in it. He had 
worked long enough to get very tired of his job, 
with its silence and loneliness, — though, to do him 
justice, the idea of giving it up, and going home, 
never entered his mind, — when he happened to 
look toward the house. 

He saw Harry drawing up Brown Bess with a 
flourish before the door. He was in the new 
buggy, on whose perfections he had been expati- 


72 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


ating during the homeward walk, and both car- 
riage and harness glittered in the sunshine. 

Louis leaned on his hoe and watched him. 

He stood patting Brown Bess’s graceful head, 
and smoothing her glossy neck, until Mrs. Law- 
rence came out. He gallantly put her into the 
carriage, and tucked the duster carefully about 
her. Then, apparently at some suggestion from 
her, he altered a buckle of the harness, and looked 
critically over the rest, to be sure that all was 
right. Then he seated himself beside her, and 
drove off ; Brown Bess curving her neck and 
tossing her mane, as if she enjoyed the swift trot 
into which she presently struck. 

When the carriage was fairly out of sight, Louis 
drew a long breath which would have said a good 
deal to a listener if one had been there to hear it, 
and struck his hoe, with some unnecessary force, 
into the next hill. 

Just then the good things of the world seemed 
to him to be very unevenly divided. Why should 
Harry have everything he wanted, while he him- 
self had almost nothing ? Why should Harry be 
driving that delightful Brown Bess, this lovely 
summer evening, while he had to spend it digging 
potatoes, which were not even his own when they 
were dug? Why should Mrs. Lawrence be sitting 
at her ease in that new buggy, which looked as if 
it would almost go of itself, while his mother had 
to stay at home, and he could jiot remember when 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


73 


she last had a ride? Certainly, something was 
wrong, for it was very unfair. 

But grumbling at the good fortune of others 
never helped any one yet, and he was no excep- 
tion to the rule. 

He began to look at the long row of hills that 
stretched out before him, all to be attacked one by 
one, and to consider how many there were. It 
seemed an endless task. 

He did not know that he was repeating history ; 
that the “ Discontented Pendulum ” had been all 
over that matter long before his day. He suc- 
ceeded in making himself thorough^ unhappy, 
and he grew more tired and worked more slowly 
every minute. 

But at last his common sense came to the res- 
cue, with perhaps a little help from conscience. 
“ What a fool I am ! ” he said to himself, in a dis- 
gusted tone. “Wasn’t I glad enough to get this 
job ? And the more there is of it, isn’t it the bet- 
ter for me? Suppose Harry does go to ride? 
Why shouldn’t he ? He’s a first-rate fellow, and I 
hope he will have a good time. I’ve got some- 
thing else to do, and I should say I had better be 
doing it. I’ve heard my mother say that she can 
remember when Mr. Lawrence was a poor boy ; and 
look at him now ! I suppose other people can do 
what he did. One of these days I mean to have as 
much of everything as he has now, and I’ll earn it 
myself, too. Dear me ! I guess Miss Cecil wouldn’t 


74 


CECIL’S KNIGHT . 


want to say much about her knight, if she saw 
me grudging Harry his pleasure, and shirking my 
own work. I didn’t think I was such a contemp- 
tible fellow ! ” 

He addressed himself with new zeal to his task, 
trying to make up for his lost time. The shining 
steel flashed in the rays of the setting sun, as he 
struck the bright hoe into the hills. He began to 
enjoy seeing the great smooth potatoes roll out of 
the upturned earth, and the heaps grew fast while 
he whistled cheerily. 

“Well done, Louis !” he was startled by hearing 
a voice behind him say. 

Mr. Lawrence had come into the field unnoticed 
by him, and had been watching him for several 
minutes. 

“ That’s the way I like to see a boy — or a man, 
for that matter — work! as if his heart was in it, 
not as if he was trying to see how little he could 
do.” 

Louis blushed. He had an uncomfortable con- 
sciousness that he would not have had the benefit 
of those words of praise, if the speaker had hap- 
pened to come to him half an hour earlier. 

“But I haven’t worked so fast all the time,” he 
said frankly. « I was taking a spurt just then.” 

Mr. Lawrence seemed much amused. 

“You remind me of Pat O’Brien,” he said. 
“ You know what a lazy, good-natured fellow he 
is. Mr. Baker set him one day to digging out an 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


75 


old stump, and left him at work. He went back, 
as he thought, before he had time to get it out, 
but there he found Pat, leaning against a tree, 
smoking his pipe, and complacently surveying his 
handiwork. The ground was all raked over, but 
there was a suspicious little hillock. 

44 ‘Ah, you’ve finished that job? ’ Mr. Baker said. 

“ ‘ Long ago, surr,’ said Pat. 

“ 4 But where’s the stump ? ’ 

“Pat scratched his head. He hadn’t thought 
of that. 

“ 4 The shtump, is it ? The saints above know, 
for I don’t ! ’ he said at last, in despair. 

44 The stupid fellow had covered it up ! 

44 Now you are better off,” Mr. Lawrence said, 
44 for you have the 4 shtump’ to show! These 
heaps testify that you have worked very well for 
a boy. But it is quite time for a boy to stop, who 
isn’t used to steady work, and has eaten nothing 
since noon. I came out to tell you to go to the 
house, and get your supper, before you go home. 
Margaret has it ready for you.” 

How glad Louis was that he had not been found 
idling ! He worked a little longer to make up to 
his own satisfaction for the time he had wasted 
while 44 the black dog sat on his shoulder.” 

Then how he did enjoy his supper ! Margaret 
supplied him with a basin of water, and a towel, 
and then seated him at a corner of the kitchen 
table, before a mighty platter containing the abun- 


76 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


dant remains of a great “ boiled dish,” which she 
had cooked for dinner, with a large piece of berry 
pie to follow it. 

The supper was a bit of Mrs. Lawrence’s kindly 
consideration. 

“ Winifred Thorne would never accept charity 
for herself or her children,” she said to her hus- 
band. “If it was a possible thing, I should like 
to give her boy some new clothes, both for old 
friendship’s sake, and to please Harry, but I know 
her too well to venture it. At any rate, you can 
give him some work ; and though you say it won’t 
do to pay him more than you do other boys, we 
can at least see that he has one good solid meal 
in the day. I should like to feel sure that he had 
three.” 

But Louis knew nothing of this, and he rejoiced 
in the supper, and did great execution upon the 
cold corned beef and vegetables, while Margaret, 
whose kind Irish heart warmed to him, urged him 
to new exertions. 

“I call that a supper that is a supper, Mar- 
garet,” he said, as he pushed his chair back at last. 

“Sure, I’m thinkin’ it’s the hunger that made 
the sauce for it,” she returned, “ and much good 
may it do ye. From noon till night is too long 
intirely for a bye like ye to go without the bit 
and sup.” 

When Louis left the house, he found Mr. Law- 
rence sitting on the porch. 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


77 


“ You would like to take your pay each night, 
wouldn’t you ? ” he said, taking out his purse. 
“I pay my men fifteen cents an hour, and my 
boys half of that, with a half-cent thrown in to 
make even change. How long did you work 
to-night? Two hours and a half? Can you 
cipher it up ? ” 

Louis was equal to that demand, and Mr. Law- 
rence put the money in his hand. 

“Don’t spend it for peanuts before you get 
home ! ” he said. “ And you can take this basket 
of potatoes to your mother, for a sample of what 
you have been digging. Tell her I’m not a bit 
ashamed of them. Shall I see you to-morrow, or 
have you had enough of it ? ” 

“ Oh no, sir ! I mean, yes, sir ! ” Louis said, 
getting entangled in the two questions. “ I shall 
come, certainly. And I think I can work a while 
in the morning before school, the mornings are so 
long.” 

“Come when you like,” Mr. Lawrence said. 
“You will find the field in the same place. And 
see that you never go away at night without your 
supper. If Margaret does not give you a good 
one, you can speak to me about it,” he added, 
raising his voice mischievously for Margaret’s 
benefit. 

A laugh from the kitchen answered him, and 
Louis said, “ I guess there’s no danger of that.” 

He hurried home with his basket, to find that 


78 


CECILS KNIGHT . 


his mother had met with no success in her search 
for work ; and the pleasure he felt in giving her 
the twenty cents he had earned, made him forget 
his weariness for the time. He seemed to be 
really the bread-winner of the household. 

“ That will feed us for to-morrow,” he said 
cheerfully, as she dropped the coins into the box 
which served for the family treasury. “We can 
have baked potatoes for breakfast, and I shall try 
to bring you a little more than that to-morrow 
night.” 

He talked for a little while to amuse Freda, 
who had passed a lonely afternoon ; but his un- 
usual work had tired him, and he was glad to take 
his mother’s advice and go to bed early. “The 
sleep of the laboring man is sweet,” and Louis’ 
sleep was sound and dreamless. 

He rose, rested and refreshed, so early that he 
was able to work for more than two hours before 
school time came ; and when he went home at 
night, tired indeed, but with forty cents instead 
of twenty, he began to feel as if he had struck a 
gold mine, and to think the new jacket would not 
be unattainable for so long a time as his mother 
had feared. 

How he wished he had it to-night ! Not that 
he dreaded wearing the old one so much as he 
had dreaded wearing it to church. The first 
step was the one that cost. It had been even 
easier going to school than he had feared. His 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


79 


more intimate friends, with true gentlemanly feel- 
ing, had, for anything that appeared, taken no 
notice of it. Sneers from some of the ruder boys, 
it is true, had to be borne ; but Harry Lawrence 
and Willie Russell were seen talking to them soon 
after, and whatever arguments they used had 
proved effective, for he had no more trouble from 
that source. He was getting used to the shabby 
jacket, too, so that he did not so often think of it ; 
and if he wanted the new one to-night, it was 
more that he might do honor to Miss Huntington’s 
invitation, than from any feeling of shame. 

But there was no use in wishing for that, and 
he contented himself with brushing the old one 
diligently, until there was not a speck of dust 
upon it. His mother had found time to make 
him a pretty tie from some bits of ribbon ; and 
when she had brushed his bonny brown hair her- 
self, she gave him a kiss and said : — 

“My grandmother used to say to us, ‘Hand- 
some is as handsome does, girls. Behave as well 
as you look, and you’ll do.’ So I pass her words 
of wisdom down to you.” 

Like most mothers, she had her own opinion of 
her boy, both as to looks and behavior. 

There was still a little time to spare; for, as 
Freda said, “the party didn’t begin till seven 
o’clock.” Louis said he was tired, and was glad to 
sit down with her to rest, until it should be time 
to go. 


80 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


CHAPTER V. 


“You cannot think that the buckling on of the knight’s 
armor by his lady’s hand was a mere caprice of romantic 
fashion. It is the type of an eternal truth, that the soul’s armor 
is never well set to the heart unless a woman’s hand has braced 
it, and it is only when she braces it loosely that the honor of 
manhood fails.” — Ruskin. 

H ARRY called for Louis, according to agree- 
ment, and before they reached Miss Hunting- 
ton’s house, they met the rest of the class, so that 
they all went in together, much to the relief of 
shy Charlie Ray, who had recently joined the 
class, and had dreaded making his entrance alone. 
It was not a first visit to any of the others. 

Ulla ushered them into the pretty parlor, where 
Miss Huntington was waiting to receive them, 
and her cordial greeting put them at ease at once. 

Louis thought this parlor was the prettiest room 
he had ever seen ; perhaps that was partly due to 
the fact that it had the homelike look, the inde- 
scribable something, which only rooms that are in 
daily use can have. 

A low sewing-chair was placed by Miss Cecil’s 
favorite window, with a small work-table before 
it, on which stood a dainty little silk-lined basket, 
holding the various gay-colored silks which were 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


81 


needed for the strip of embroidery lying beside it. 
Books and pictures were on other tables, and 
flowers were everywhere. The air was sweet 
with their fragrance. 

Two large windows on one side reached to the 
floor, and opened in the middle like doors, sliding 
back, so that the wide piazza became, to all intents 
and purposes, a part of the room. 

Two pretty kittens were lying on a soft rug, 
near the sewing-chair, and Louis soon espied them. 

“Isn’t one of those our kitten, Miss Cecil?” 
he asked, as soon as the first greetings were over. 
“ They are so much alike, I can’t tell which one it 
is. They might be twins.” 

“ The one with the white vest and white gloves 
is ours,” Miss Cecil said. “My Mab looked a 
little askance at her, when they were first intro- 
duced. I fancy she was inclined to be contemptu- 
ous of such a forlorn-looking object, and thought 
her beneath her notice ; but since she finds that Lu 
has developed into something even prettier than 
herself, and gets her full share of petting, she has 
grown quite cordial to the stranger. They are 
excellent friends now.” 

“What did you call her?” Harry asked. 

“ She was named for a special friend of hers,” 
Miss Cecil said, with a glance at Louis. “ Her full 
name, for high days and holidays, is Louise Thorne ; 
but it is too long for everyday use, so I call her 
Lu, commonly. I think she knows her name very 


82 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


well already ; especially if, when she hears it, she 
sees a saucer of milk ! Call her, Louis, and see if 
she remembers you.” 

Alas for the kitten’s memory of benefits re- 
ceived ! His calling had no effect ; but as soon as 
she heard Miss Cecil’s better known voice, she 
sprang up. Mab jumped at the same instant, and 
they tumbled over each other in their eagerness 
to be first, until the two heads and tails seemed 
multiplied into six. 

If there had been any stiffness in the little party, 
the laugh that followed would have dissipated it. 
Mab and Lu seemed to enter into the spirit of the 
fun, and chased each other, or a ball, or their own 
tails, with equal zest, and much to the satisfaction 
of the boys. 

“ What a shame to kill anything so thoroughly 
alive to the tips of its toes, as that cute little kit- 
ten ! ” Tom Perkins said. “ Bill Simmons ought 
to have been spiflicated for trying it on.” 

“ To have been — what ? ” Miss Cecil said. 
“ Please put that into English for me, Tom.” 

“ I’m afraid I can’t,” Tom said, laughing frankly. 
44 1 don’t think I know myself exactly what it 
means. I saw it in a book once, and I thought 
it sounded like a pretty good word, so I saved it 
up to use ! Don’t you think it is pretty expressive 
of — something? I’m sure I don’t know what, 
but it’s a good strong word ! ” 

44 Why, Tom,” Miss Cecil said when she could 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


83 


speak, “you are as bad as that old woman who 
was found crying after hearing a sermon. She 
couldn’t tell why she cried, only she said that 
sweet word 4 Mesopotamia ’ was too much for her.” 

“ After that, I’ll invest in a pocket dictionary,” 
Tom said. “But I’m quite sure that my word 
isn’t geographical, whatever else it may be, and 1 
guess you all know the meaning I meant it should 
have.” 

“ I suppose you mean the meaning you meant 
it should mean ! ” Willie Russell suggested. 

“ Come, you shall not be teased any . longer, 
Tom,” Miss Cecil said. 44 Would you like to look 
at some of my pictures, boys? I have quite a 
collection of them.” 

They came around the table, and she brought 
out a large box, which contained several smaller 
boxes of photographs. 

44 1 am not going to inflict all these on you,” she 
said. 44 When I am travelling, I like to get a few 
good photographs of the places I visit, because 
they recall the scenes to my mind so plainly after- 
wards. So this box holds Canadian pictures; this 
one* views in the Caves of Luray ; these I brought 
from the Thousand Islands ; those came from Con- 
cord ; and so on. The boxes are labelled, you see, 
so you can choose the place you would like to 
visit.” 

The table was quickly strewn with the pictures, 
and they passed from hand to hand, some in 


84 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


silence, some with explanations from Miss Cecil, 
and comments from the others. 

“ What are these ? ” Harry asked after a while, 
taking up another box. 

“ Two of my cousins went on a vacation trip 
through West Virginia and a .part of Maryland, 
last summer,” she said, opening the box. “ They 
are amateur photographers, and these form the 
pictured history of their adventures. They went 
chiefly for their health, and wanted to live out 
doors. They hired two horses and a big wagon 
of a kind which we don’t see in this part of the 
country, and packed all sorts of articles for use 
and comfort into it, and on it, behind it, and 
under it. There’s a picture of it, as it looked 
when they were ready to start.” 

“Only think of their feelings if that had up- 
set!” said Willie. “Just look at the things fas- 
tened on, wherever there was a chance ! ” 

“Yes,” Miss Cecil said. “They prided them- 
selves on utilizing every inch of space, and found 
too late, as a good many others have found, that 
too many luxuries, or conveniences even, become 
a nuisance. It was very well to pack their wagon 
scientifically at their leisure at home, but it was 
quite another thing to replace all its contents 
every morning, since it was like a dissected puzzle, 
everything having to go in its own place, and 
refusing to fit anywhere else. They began to 
declare one thing and another unnecessary, and 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


85 


throw it away, until there was plenty of room in 
the wagon, and they were reduced to what they 
called 4 light marching order.’ ” 

“That means a gun and a frying-pan, out West,” 
said Horace. 

“ Oh, they did not get quite so far as that,” she 
said. 44 They meant to do their own cooking, so 
they took an oil stove, and carried supplies of 
bacon, canned goods, and so on. They bought 
milk and eggs and bread at the farmers’ houses. 
Each of them carried his camera, and they took 
photographs of the scenes that interested them 
most.” 

44 Oh, what fun it must have been ! ” Willie said. 

44 Some of it was,” Cecil said, smiling, as she re- 
membered their description of some days which 
certainly did not come under that head. 

“Can’t you tell us some more about it?” Harry 
urged. 44 1 do like anything about camping out, 
so much.” 

44 It seems to me that the description would be 
more pleasant than the thing itself,” she said. 44 1 
think they were glad to camp in occasionally, for 
a change. Now and then, when they passed 
through a village, they treated resolution by what 
they called 4 a square meal and a civilized sleep,’ 
at a hotel, and then went back to their gypsy life 
again. One slept in the wagon, and the other in a 
hammock. There’s a night scene — taken in the 
morning ! ” 


86 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


“ Which was best ? ” Charlie asked. 

“Well,” she said, “I don’t think there was 
much to choose. They said it was like the two 
bad roads to town. ‘Whichever you took, you 
would wish you had taken the other.’ I believe 
they rather preferred the shelter of the wagon, 
but they took turns with it. They agreed that 
finding food and water for the horses, when they 
stopped at night, and were, perhaps, far from any 
house or stream, was the hardest thing they did. 
That is a picture of one of their camps.” 

“They look very comfortable,” Horace said, 
passing the picture on. 

“ Especially the one who is leaning back against 
the trunk of that big tree, with the cup in his 
hand,” said George. 

“Coffee was their great comfort,” Miss Cecil 
remarked. “ And they were quite proud of their 
skill in making it. John thought he was qualified 
to teach a cooking-school when he came home. 

“ This is the same camp a little later. One is 
washing dishes, and the other is bringing hay 
from the farm-house below, to feed the horses. 
You can see him coming up the rocks, with a big- 
bundle of hay on his back.” 

“ That doesn’t look quite so comfortable,” Hor- 
ace said. 

“What I want to know is, who took the pic- 
ture?” said Louis. “Both of them are in it.” 

“Of course,” Tom said, with the complacency 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


87 


of superior knowledge. “ There’s a cord fastened 
to the cap of the camera, and one of them man- 
ages it with a touch. It ought to be there some- 
where. There, don’t you see it lying on the log 
by the dish-washer ? ” 

“ Oh, I see it ! ” two or three exclaimed. 

“And here is a pencilled sketch,” Miss Cecil 
said, “ which tells quite a story, and comments 
upon your ‘ fun,’ Willie. It was put into the set, 
because a photograph could not well be taken 
under the circumstances. It shows them plodding 
along in the rain. See how the storm drives, and 
how deep their feet seem to sink in the mud ! 
The horses were tired, and could barely drag 
themselves along, so the two young gentlemen 
were toiling up that hill on foot, as they toiled up 
a good many others, through the deep, adhesive 
Virginia mud. They said they never knew before 
what mud was. Did you ever see more doleful 
faces, or more thoroughly depressed horses ? ” 
“Well, camping out in the wet, at the end of a 
day like that, with everything dripping, and the 
rain pouring, wouldn’t be so much fun,” Willie 
generously admitted. 

“ I shouldn’t wonder if they were ready to sing, 
4 Be it ever so homely, there’s no place like home,’ 
by the time their horses and themselves were fed 
that night,” Horace said. 

“ Oh, it would be like our going fishing. Who 
minds a little rain then?” said Louis. “And 


88 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


only think how they would enjoy the next day’s 
sunshine ! Everything would be so clean after 
the rain.” 

“ Except the mud,” said Miss Cecil. “ But 
that is a good way to look at disagreeable things, 
Louis. I think they laughed over the discom- 
forts. Certainly they can laugh at them now. I 
believe it is disagreeable things that give the 
charm to memories of adventure. 

“ Here are pictures of some of the battle-fields 
that they saw.” 

But the boys did not take the same interest in 
these. They looked very much like any other 
fields, they said; and they were not sufficiently 
well read in history to be able to recall the facts 
connected with them, or to picture the scene in 
their imagination, when the smoke of battle hung 
over it, and the dead and dying lay stretched 
upon it, trampled on by the feet of the victors 
and of the vanquished, in the heat of flight and 
pursuit. 

“I like the other pictures better, with people 
in them,” Tom said frankly. “There’s nothing 
special to look at in these. Seeing the battle it- 
self would be another thing, but this is only the 
bird’s nest after the bird has flown. These are 
nothing but hill and meadow, and one can see 
those anywhere.” 

“ That’s why I liked those Caves of Luray,” said 
George, “because I never saw anything like them, 
and they reminded me of the 4 Arabian Nights.’ ” 


CECIL’S KNIGHT . 


89 


All the others assented; and while each was 
telling which one of the pictures they had seen 
had founds most favor in his eyes, Miss Cecil said 
to Louis : — 

“ Will you bring that engraving-stand here, 
please? I think you may find something there 
that you will all like.” 

She was quite right. The boys deserted the 
photographs, and clustered about her, for all 
could see together, as the large engravings were 
slowly turned. Each of these pictures told a 
story of its own, sometimes so plainly as to need 
no explanation, sometimes requiring a few words 
of description. 

There was a life-boat making its way through 
the foaming waves, which half buried it, to a 
wrecked ship; there was a hunting-scene, with 
the hunters gathering at the meet, under the 
great English oaks, with eager horses, and hounds 
straining at the leash ; there was Mazeppa, bound 
upon his desert-born steed; and King Alfred 
meekly receiving the scolding of his peasant 
hostess for letting her cakes burn ; there were 
beautiful Madonnas, and angels with lovely child- 
faces ; there was a hawking scene, with a fair lady 
on a white horse, throwing a falcon into the air 
from her gauntleted wrist ; and there was Burns’ 
white-headed cotter, in the midst of his family, 
with his big Bible, “waling a portion with judi- 
cious care.” 


90 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


It was an odd medley, but there was life and 
action in it all ; there seemed no end to the vari- 
ety and the beauty, and the boys were* delighted. 
At last a picture appeared which brought an ex- 
clamation from several at once of — 

“ Oh, what is that ? ” 

“I know!” Willie Russell exclaimed; “for I 
have just been reading ‘Ivanhoe.’ You ought to 
read it, boys. It is perfectly splendid ! Isn’t 
that the tournament of Ashby, Miss Cecil, with 
the Sluggish Knight coming up to Ivanhoe’s aid, 
when there was such unfair odds against him ? 
He is just reining back his horse as those fellows 
strike at him on each side at once.” 

“You are quite right, Willie,” Miss Cecil said. 
“I am glad you can recognize it. Tell the others 
about it.” 

He went on eagerly to enlighten them, describ- 
ing the two days’ contest, and the result of the 
fight, in the most animated terms. The boys lis- 
tened intently, and when he could tell no more, 
they looked at the picture again, with a new un- 
derstanding and appreciation of it. 

“I wish there were such knights now,” Harry 
said presently, while they were still studying the 
details of the picture. “ It is a pity that the race 
has died out. It would be something to see such 
a tournament, and to know that there were men 
who could do such brave deeds.” 

Louis exchanged a smile and a look of intelli- 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


91 


gence with Miss Huntington. It amused him to 
hear his own words from Harry’s lips. 

“ Oh, yes, it is very fine to read about them,” 
Willie Russell said wisely. “ Nobody likes that 
better than I do. But unless you were a knight 
yourself, if you were only one of their underlings, 
1 don’t believe you would care to have them 
about. You would be glad to get back to our 
good old doctrine that 4 all men are born free 
and equal,’ and have a chance to make what 
they choose of themselves. The strongest ruled 
in those days, and the weakest went to the wall, 
no matter which side the right was on.” 

“ It was very much so,” said Miss Cecil, to whom 
Harry looked. 44 Rob Roy’s rule was not far from 
the standard of men in general. Did you ever 
hear it? 

“ ‘ The good old rule 
Sufficeth me ; the simple plan, 

That they should take who have the power, 

And they should keep who can. 

“ ‘ Since then,’ said Robin, ‘ right is plain, 

And longest life is but a day, 

To have my ends, maintain my rights, 

I’ll take the shortest way.’ 

“ And thus among those rocks he lived, 

Through summer’s heat and winter’s snow ; 

The eagle, he was lord above, 

And Rob was lord below.” 


92 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


“There! He didn’t mince matters much, did 
he?” said Willie. 

“ If he went on his 4 simple plan ’ in these times, 
he would find the police after him,” Horace said. 
“ But, say what you like against them, after all, I 
do admire those knights, and I don’t see that they 
were any worse than the rest of the world. Most 
people get all they can, of power or wealth, in one 
way or another. Look at the most famous men 
of the world, Caesar, Napoleon, and that German 
— I can’t remember his name. I don’t think they 
stopped to consider other people’s rights very 
much, and nobody blamed them for it. Every- 
body praised their courage and ability.” 

“ Except the other people ! ” Charlie Ray put in. 

‘‘When men are conquering the world, they 
have a big contract on their hands, and can’t 
stop for trifles,” Horace rejoined, in a slighting 
manner. 

“ But it wasn’t a trifle to the other people,” 
Charlie persisted. “ It was their rights that 
were taken away.” 

“ Oh, well,” Horace said, “ ‘ they must keep 
who can.’ It always comes to that, I guess.” 

“ What I like in the knights was their bravery,” 
said Willie Russell. “ I suppose they were an ig- 
norant set of people, who couldn’t read or write, 
and nobody can say much for their morals. I dare 
say they did go on Rob Roy’s plan, just as far as 
they could. But, at least, they were brave. No- 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


93 


body can deny that. They would never show the 
white feather, even in the greatest danger. Just 
look at Ivanhoe there, with those two huge fel- 
lows attacking him ! ” 

“He was pretty well protected,” Harry said. 
“ Look at all that armor ; it covers everything but 
his eyes. Made of iron, wasn’t it ? ” 

“No; steel,” Willie said. He felt himself an 
authority on the subject, in view of his recent 
reading of Scott, and proceeded to expound the 
matter. “ They had steel shirts made of little 
rings welded together, so that they would yield to 
every motion of the wearer, and yet would turn a 
sword, or the point of a lance ; and the rest of the 
armor was made of steel plates. Friar Tuck called 
King Richard’s helmet ‘an iron pot,’ but I sup- 
pose it was made of steel. A nice weight all that 
armor must have been ! I don’t see how they 
could carry it, and have any strength left for fight- 
ing ; but they did.” 

“ But it seems to me that it was no great proof 
of bravery to cover themselves with steel from 
head to foot, and then declare themselves ready to 
fight,” said Harry. “ It is like a turtle in his 
shell. Suppose I got behind a six-foot wall, and 
then challenged you to come on ? ” 

“ I being behind another wall, I suppose ! ” said 
Willie; and there was a general laugh. “Still, 
with all their precautions, there was some chance 
left of their getting hurt, for they were often 


94 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


wounded or killed, so I still think they were very 
brave.” 

“ I wonder,” George Baker said, “ if it wouldn’t 
take as much courage to face a shower of shells 
and cannon-balls, as soldiers have to do now, as to 
face one man with a lance ? ” 

“ More, I think,” Harry answered. 

“Well, I’m not so sure of that,” Willie said. 
“ They say it takes a man’s weight in bullets to 
kill him. Not one in a hundred hits anybody, so 
your chance of escaping is pretty good ; but when 
you see a man with a sharp lance coming right at 
you, and at nobody else, and know that he is 
meaning to send it through you if he can, it is 
quite another thing. 

“ And there’s a difference in the courage it takes 
to use a gun, or a lance, as well as to face one. I 
remember reading, only a little while ago, that 
Chevalier Bayard despised the arquebusiers, who 
were the gunners of his day. He said it needed 
both skill and courage to wield the lance and 
sword, but any skulking wretch could pull a trig- 
ger from behind a stone. I suppose the other 
knights felt as he did about it.” 

“ Well, if he had owned a six-shooter, and been 
as skilful with it as he was with his lance, he might 
have sung another song,” Tom remarked shrewdly. 

“ Besides,” said Harry, “ the knights could 
choose their own time and way of fighting, but 
our soldiers must go where they are sent, and do 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


95 


as they are told, and they haven’t the same hope 
of fame and glory to encourage them to brave 
deeds, for that seems to go chiefly to the officers. 
All anybody says about the men, no matter what 
they do, is only that they have done their duty.” 

“But that isn’t a small thing to say of any 
one,” said Miss Cecil, “ whether he is knight, or 
soldier, or schoolboy. It is high praise. It is 
what those same knights aimed at, and some of 
them earned their fame fairly. There was the 
Chevalier Bayard, in the beginning of the six- 
teenth century, — the one of whom Willie spoke. 
You could not have a better illustration. He was 
a marvel of bravery, even among brave men. 
From the time when he became a page of the 
Duke of Savoy, in his fourteenth year, until he 
died on the field of battle, his life was one long 
succession of victories, though he often fought 
against fearful odds. His history reads like a 
fairy tale.” 

“ I like fairy tales very much, — especially when 
they are true ! ” Louis hinted. 

Miss Cecil smiled at him, and continued : — 

“ In a tournament like that at Ashby, before he 
was nineteen years old, forty-eight of his compan- 
ions struck his shield — you know what that sig- 
nified, Willie?” 

“It was to show that they wanted to fight with 
him ; a challenge to him,” Willie answered. “ But 
forty-eight of them ! ” 


96 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


“Yes, so historians say. They rode into the 
lists against him, and he overthrew the whole 
band, one by one, and was proclaimed the cham- 
pion of the field.” 

“ Splendid fellow ! ” Willie cried, with sparkling 
eyes. 

“ His . feats of arms in real battle were quite 
equal to that, and both would seem fabulous, if 
they were not so well attested. Would you like 
to hear one of those?” Miss Cecil asked, observ- 
ing the interest of her auditors. 

“ You must not think all the knights were like 
him. He was the flower of the chivalry of his 
time. I remember that I was very much im- 
pressed by one example of his deeds, which will 
show you the man, as well as a dozen could. 

“ The German Emperor was going to attack the 
city of Mezieres. It was a very important place ; 
for if it was taken, the whole province would be 
lost, and yet it was in no condition to be de- 
fended. It had no artillery, and the ramparts 
were in ruins. No one dared assume the respon- 
sibility of defending it. But Bayard volunteered 
to do it. He said, 4 No walls are weak which are 
defended by brave men.’ He went to the city 
with a small force of picked men, and took com- 
mand. There was brief time for preparation, for 
two days later the Count of Nassau besieged it, 
with a great army of men and many cannon. The 
besieging army expected the place to surrender 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


97 


before twelve hours were over, defending it seemed 
so hopeless. They thought the very sight of their 
numbers would be enough ; but they did not count 
on Bayard. He was a host in himself. 

“ Every day breaches were made in the ramparts 
by the enemy’s cannon-shot, but every night they 
were rebuilt as if by magic. The defenders of 
the city, faint and few, had to contend with 
wounds, pestilence, and famine, within their walls, 
as well as with the hosts without; but Bayard had 
put every man on oath to eat his horse and his 
boots before he would surrender, and they kept 
their word. For three weeks, until relief came, 
he held the city against that great army of forty 
thousand men, with a hundred cannon to help 
them. 

“ Some time after, it is said, Mary of Hungary 
scornfully asked the Count of Nassau how it hap- 
pened that, with all those troops and guns, he 
had failed to capture that crazy pigeon-house of 
Mezieres. 

“ And he answered, ‘ Because there was an eagle 
in it ! ’ ” 

The boys had listened with breathless interest, 
and at this answer they fairly clapped their hands, 
while Tom Perkins uttered a half-suppressed cheer. 

Miss Huntington had been very glad, to find 
them disposed to talk so freely, because it showed 
how completely they felt at their ease with her, 
and because it gave her an insight into their char- 


98 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


acters which it would he impossible for her to get 
while they were talking under any restraint, even 
if it were as light as the check imposed by their 
relative positions in the Sabbath-school, as teacher 
and pupils. Here they seemed to forget that. 

A little boy once said to his mother, “ Do you 
know that there’s two of me? There’s the me 
that people see, that’s one ; and there’s another 
me, inside of me, that they don’t know anything 
about. ’ 

It was this second 44 me,” the real self, of which 
Miss Cecil was watching to get a glimpse, through ' 
all this talk and that which followed. They said 
nothing very wise ; they only chatted easily, wan- 
dering from one thing to another, and saying just 
what came uppermost ; but she knew that half a 
dozen boys cannot long talk together, on any sub- 
ject in which they are interested, without uncon- 
sciously disclosing to a listener a little of their real 
character. 

44 1 think all that just proved what I said, that 
those knights were wonderfully brave men,” Willie 
Russell said eagerly. 44 Wasn’t Bayard perfectly 
splendid? ” 

Miss Cecil gave a hearty assent. 

44 But,” she added, 44 1 think we might find deeds 
as knightly as his, without going back through the 
years to his time. Can none of you think of any 
of more recent date ? ” 

There was a little pause while the boys con- 
sidered. 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


99 


“ I should think he did for his men exactly what 
General Sheridan did for his, when he rode from 
Winchester to save tflfe day,” said Tom. “ That 
was the last piece I spoke. 

“ He dashed down the line, ’mid a storm of huzzas, 

And the wave of retreat checked its course then, because 
The sight of the master compelled it to pause.” 

“I have often heard my father tell,” Charlie Ray 
said, “ of a brave thing that was done at the great 
fire in Chicago, years ago, which Mrs. O’Leary’s 
cow began — ” 

“How did she do it?” interrupted one. “Ex- 
plain that point before you go any further ! ” 

“Was she playing with matches?” demanded 
another. 

“Was it a spark from her cigar?” questioned a 
third. 

“ A cow is about the last creature I should sus- 
pect of such a crime,” Harry remarked. “ They 
are such meditative, dreamy animals. Shows that 
it isn’t safe to judge from appearances. Perhaps 
this one had been drinking something besides 
water ? ” 

Charlie turned from one to another of the teas- 
ing boys, as if he intended to hear all they had to 
say before answering any one. Then he explained 
briefly : — 

“ Kicked over a lamp ! ” and went on with his 
story, this time without interruption. 


100 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


“In the Great Fire, my uncle John’s house was 
burned. It was one of the first to go ; that is, before 
the alarm became general over the city. It was 
all on fire, almost before they knew it, and nothing 
could be saved ; but my uncle said he didn’t care, 
he was so glad that his wife and children were all 
safely out of it. So they stood watching it burn, 
and the next house had just caught fire from it, in 
spite of the firemen, when little Fanny’s nurse 
came rushing up to them, and screamed out that 
Fanny was in the burning house, in her room. 
Uncle was nearly crazy, and was going to rush in 
after her, but they wouldn’t let him go.” 

“ Who wouldn’t ? ” George interposed. 

“ The firemen,” said Charlie. “ The engineer 
picked out two men, and sent them instead of him, 
because they knew what to do. They found Fanny 
crying on the nurse’s bed, and she cried all the 
more when one of the strange men took her in his 
arms, and tore a blanket off the bed, and wrapped 
her up in it, head and all. He put another round 
himself, and tried with the other man’s help to 
rush through the fire, but it had got under such 
headway that it beat them back. They tried 
twice, and then Fanny’s man said : — 

“‘We must get through! There’s no way but 
this. I told the mother I would bring this child 
to her. If 1 fall, snatch her, and don’t wait for 
me, and may God help us ! ’ 

“ They rushed into the fire again ; the last part of 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


101 


the way they threw themselves on their faces, and 
crawled along ; but this time they did get through 
to the front of the house, and came down a ladder. 
Fanny wasn’t touched by the fire, she Was covered 
up so carefully; but the two men were terribly 
burned, and they had to stay in the hospital a long 
time. It seems to me that it was as brave a thing 
as the deeds of the knights. Of the two, I should 
rather fight a man than to fight fire, at such close 
quarters. But very few knew anything about it, 
and so many such things happened in the next 
few days, that the firemen didn’t even get much 
praise. People were too busy with their own 
trouble, and took heroism as a matter of course.” 

44 But how came the baby to be left there ? ” 
Harry asked. 44 1 should think that people would 
have the sense to call the roll at such a time, and 
so make themselves certain that everybody is out 
of the house.” 

44 Uncle John thought he was certain,” Charlie 
said, with some indignation. 44 It was the fault of 
the nurse. He put Fanny in her arms, and saw 
her start with her, while the way to the door was 
clear, and then he went to get Bertie. But the 
fire wasn’t actually in the room, and the nurse 
thought she should have time enough to save some 
things of her own, so she put Fanny down for a 
minute while she got them. Then a fireman 
shouted to her that she had no time to lose, and 
the smoke filled the room, and she grew confused, 
and forgot Fanny, till it was too late.” 


102 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


“Stupid woman,” said Harry, “thinking so 
much of her old duds ! But that fireman did do 
a brave thing, Charlie. It was something to be 
proud of.” 

“ There ought to be a decoration of honor for 
such things, given by the nation,” said Willie ; 
“something like the medal of the Humane So- 
ciety, or like the Victoria Cross in England, or 
like being knighted on the field of battle.” 

“ But firemen are always doing just that kind of 
thing,” Horace objected, “ so that your medals, or 
whatever you had, would soon be as common as 
buttons.” 

“Then, doesn’t that go to prove that the 
knightly spirit survives in our day ? ” said Miss 
Cecil. “ Only it isn’t confined to one class of men, 
a chosen few. It is found all over our land, and 
so we take it as a matter of course, and do not 
prize it as we should. But, after all, isn’t it just 
as noble to risk your own life in order to save 
another’s, as to do it in order to destroy it ? Don’t 
you like the firemen’s helmet as much as King 
Richard’s 4 iron pot ’ ? ” 

“ That is the kind of thing engineers do on the 
railroad,” said Tom. “In the account of almost 
every accident the papers say that the engineer 
might have saved his life if he had jumped from 
his engine ; but he never does it. To the last min- 
ute he keeps his hand on the throttle-valve, does 
his best to save the lives of his passengers, and 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


103 


dies himself. For anything I can see, we shall all 
have to be engineers or firemen, if we want to do 
brave things.” 

“Not necessarily,” Miss Cecil said. “That is 
hardly fair to the rest of the world. If you have 
the spirit, the chance to show it won’t be lacking, 
whatever road in life you may happen to follow. 
It is just being ready to meet danger, or to sacri- 
fice yourself, for others, and you can’t find any 
position where you won’t have a chance to do that. 
In England, there is no day in the year when the 
blossom is off the gorse, and so the English have a 
saying, ‘ When the gorse is out of bloom, then is 
kissing out of fashion.’ I think the saying holds 
good of heroism as well. I have two friends who, 
to my mind, are heroes ; but they are not knights, 
nor engineers, nor firemen. One is a doctor, and 
the other a farmer.” 

“ Oh, don’t stop there ! ” Louis said. “ I hope 
you are going to tell us about them.” 

“It isn’t very much to tell, though I think it 
was a grand thing to do,” she returned. “ A town 
in one of our Southern States was smitten by yel- 
low fever. That is a terrible disease, you know, 
and very contagious. Of course, the first impulse 
of all to whom flight was possible was to flee ; but 
they were forbidden to leave the town, lest the}" 
should spread the infection ; and no one dared to 
go to them, for it seemed like going to certain 
death. The two physicians of the place were 


104 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


among the first victims of the fever, so the sick 
were left to their fate. The absence of medical 
care seemed to take away their last slender hope 
of life, and the telegraph brought to the North 
most urgent appeals for help. 

“ My friend heard them. It was like the trum- 
pet-call to Bayard ; and he answered as promptly, 
though life was opening bright before him, with 
fair prospects of usefulness and happiness ; and 
though his friends called him Quixotic, and his 
intention suicidal, and said everything they could 
to dissuade him from throwing himself away for 
strangers who had no claim upon him. But he 
said they had the claim of need, and he was young 
and strong, with no family depending upon him 
for support, and so, plainly, just the one to go ; 
and he went. 

44 The poor sufferers received him as if he was 
sent from heaven, and he worked among them 
day and night, going from the house of the rich 
planter to the hut of the poor negro, doing the 
humblest offices when need required, nursing the 
sick and burying the dead with his own hands, 
forgetful of self, until, in his turn, he was stricken 
down by the terrible disease. I call him as brave 
a knight as Bayard ! ” 

44 So do I ! ” 44 And I ! ” half a dozen voices 

agreed. 

44 Did he die ? ” Charlie Ray asked. 44 1 hope 
not.” 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


105 


“No,” Miss Cecil said. A little flush had risen 
to her cheeks, and her eyes were shining. “No. 
He was very ill, but he recovered and came back 
to the North, and took up his work again, in the 
old way, as if he had done nothing remarkable. 
It made a nine days’ talk, and then was forgotten. 
I think he has almost forgotten it himself. But 
he did not do it for the sake of fame. 1 don’t 
think even the boys of his Sunday-school know 
that they have a hero for a superintendent ! ” 

She said it significantly. The boys looked at her 
an instant, as if they could not believe their ears ; 
then with one impulse they sprang to their feet. 

“Miss Cecil!” Harry exclaimed. “You don’t 
— you carCt mean that it was Dr. Gardiner who 
did that magnificent thing ! ” 

She nodded. She enjoyed their surprise and 
wonder, though a deeper feeling brought the 
blush to her cheek and made her eyes sparkle. 

“ Oh, the splendid fellow ! ” Harry said enthusi- 
astically. “And to think that we never knew 
it!” 

“ I always did know that Dr. Gardiner came 
about as near perfection as they make them,” Tom 
declared. “ I can say so much for myself.” 

“ But only think of our having a real hero right 
before our face and eyes, every Sunday, and we 
n,ever finding it out, or even suspecting it ! ” said 
Horace. 

“ It was twice as brave a thing to do,” Louis 


106 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


said, “ as to risk his life in battle, for the sake of 
killing somebody else, when all about him there 
would be trumpets sounding, and feathers flying, 
and horses prancing, and everything to key him 
up to concert pitch ! He ought to be called Sir 
Maxwell ! ” 

“ I wonder — ” Miss Cecil began. Then she 
stopped, and seemed to consider. 

“ In the battle of Gettysburg,” she began again, 
“ one of the chaplains was so badly hurt by a fall 
from his horse, that he had to lie on the field all 
night. He was surrounded by dead and dying 
men. He could hear nothing but the groans 
which pain forced from the wounded. He was 
himself suffering severely from his injury. I 
think the hours must have seemed very long to 
him. But while he lay there on the ground, he 
heard a voice at a little distance say ‘Oh, my 
God ! ’ and he thought, ‘ I must get to that man 
somehow.’ There was no one to carry him; he 
couldn’t walk; he couldn’t creep; but he could 
roll, and he rolled over and over, among the dead 
bodies, and through the blood of the wounded, 
until he reached the man, and could tell him of 
the love of the God on whose name he had called. 
Then a dying officer wanted him, and two men 
carried him to his side. So he passed the rest of 
that long night, the two soldiers carrying him 
from one to another, and he, regardless of his own 
sufferings, talked to them of our blessed Saviour, 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


107 


and prayed with them, while he had to lie on his 
back beside them.” 

“Well,” Harry said, “I always thought that 
Englishman, Sir Philip Sidney, did a fine thing 
when he was dying, and was so dreadfully thirsty, 
and one of his friends brought him a cup of water, 
to give it to a poor wounded soldier who looked 
longingly at it, because he said the man needed it 
more than he did; but I think this was a finer 
thing. That chaplain must have been a real 
Christian, and believed what he preached. T 
should like to hear him preach. I should know 
his heart was in it.” 

“ It was a grand thing to do,” Louis said ear- 
nestly. “ I do like to hear of such noble men as 
that. They are better than the knights, because 
they come nearer to us, and they do things that 
we may have a chance to do some day.” 

“ You think you could roll over and over, if you 
couldn’t defeat forty-eight men in a tournament ! ” 
said mischievous Tom. “ I shall expect to see you 
practising ! ” 

But the others were too much in earnest to 
laugh. 

“It is among possibilities that you may hear 
that chaplain preach, some day,” Miss Cecil said, 
with a side glance at Willie. “ He is the minister 
now of a country church, and I have heard him 
preach. But I don’t believe that the boys who 
listen to him every Sunday have the slightest 


108 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


idea that they have a Christian hero for a pastor. I 
doubt whether even his own son knows it ; for true 
chivalry in these days doesn’t go about blazoning 
its own deeds in search of fame, but keeps mod- 
estly silent about them, and leaves others to dis- 
cover them.” * 

“Miss Cecil!” Harry exclaimed again, “do you 
mean us ? I saw a queer look on your face then. 
Were we those boys? Was that chaplain our 
minister, Mr. Russell?” 

“My father!” Willie gasped, almost breathless 
with surprise. “ And I never knew it ! ” 

“It certainly was your father,” Miss Cecil re- 
plied. “ He is one of my heroes, a knight whose 
lance is always ready, whose armor is always on, 
and who always answers the trumpet’s call, even 
if he is wounded and suffering, thinking only of 
his duty, and forgetting himself.” 

“It’s exactly like Mr. Russell,” said Horace. 
“Shake hands, Willie! You’ve a right to be 
proud of your father. I’m proud of my minister, 
I can tell you. I should like to shake hands with 
him, and I will, the first chance I get ; but in the 
meantime I will make you do for a substitute.” 

The tears were in Willie’s eyes, though they 
were anything but tears of grief, for he felt in a 
tumult of joy and pride ; but as the boys, following 
Horace Davenport’s lead, all pressed round him, 
shaking both hands at once, and throwing their 
enthusiasm into the strength of their squeeze, the 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


109 


tears disappeared, while he laughingly begged for 
mercy. 

But when quiet was once more restored, Miss 
Cecil smiled to see him cast a glance at Ivanhoe’s 
picture, which said, plainly enough, that another 
now held the place of that knight in his imagi- 
nation. 

“ Now you will tell us about your other friend, 
Miss Cecil, won’t you ? You said there were two. 
The farmer, you know,” said Harry Lawrence. 
“I shall be on the watch this time. I hope he 
will turn out to be my father ! ” 

“Please tell us in the beginning, if it is Mr. 
Lawrence, or if it is anybody we know,” said 
Horace. “ I don’t think I could stand another 
shock to-night ! ” 

“ Then it is fortunate that I have not another in 
store for you,” Miss Cecil replied. “ My other friend 
is some one whom you have never seen. And I 
am afraid you will be disappointed in his history, 
for there was nothing brilliant in what he did.” 

“ That comforts me for its not being my father !'” 
Harry remarked. 

“For my part,” said George, “I’m beginning 
to feel that I shan’t be able to look at a man in 
the street, without saying to myself, ‘ Now, I 
wonder what you have done ! ’ ” 

“ My friend was the only son of a farmer,” Miss 
Cecil said : “ but he had a great dislike to country 
life, while his father had an equal dislike to a 


110 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


city life. When he reached manhood, he had an 
opportunity to go into business in the neighboring 
city, where he was certain that he could soon 
make a fortune. But his father had grown to 
depend upon him ; and between his need of him 
and his fears for his future, — for he really be- 
lieved that the city would- be his ruin in every 
way, — was very unhappy at the idea of his going. 
No effort could change his view of it. 

“My friend considered the question on all sides, 
and decided that it was his duty to stay at the old 
home. His father did not understand what a 
struggle it cost him to give up his hopes and 
prospects, and the life that he preferred, and only 
said that 4 Joe was a pretty sensible fellow, after 
all ; and he knew he would see on which side his 
bread was buttered.’ 

“ He lost his health soon afterward, and all the 
care of the large farm fell upon my friend. It 
was work that he disliked, but he forced himself 
to do it with a will. No one’s farm was kept in 
better order ; no one’s crops were larger. 

“ The father, feeble as he was, lived twenty years 
longer. He was nearly ninety years old when he 
died. During all that time not a word of regret 
or complaint was ever heard from my friend’s 
lips. He did not pose as a victim, or show that he 
had made a sacrifice. Only a few of his more 
intimate friends knew it. 

“ But as soon as he was free, he sold the farm, 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


Ill 


and went to the city, where he found work more 
congenial to his taste ; and his prosperity and 
success since have shown what he would have 
done if he had not sacrificed the most of his life 
to his sense of filial duty.” 

No one seemed very ready to speak, when she 
ceased; there was no outburst of applause. Evi- 
dently her prediction had been correct; and the 
farmer’s sacrifice did not touch the same chord as 
the doctor’s. The boys looked at each other. 

“Well, twenty years is a long time,” Horace 
said at last, shrugging his shoulders. 

“I should have gone,” Harry declared posi- 
tively. “ I should have taken a bee-line to the 
city, and he would have seen the sense of it later, 
when I came back rich. I would have hired a 
man to take my place on the farm. Laborers are 
plenty enough, without making one out of a man 
who is fit for something better. He was old 
enough to judge for himself.” 

“Not too old to remember the command ‘Honor 
thy father,’ ” said Miss Cecil. “ I don’t think he 
has ever regretted his decision. As to the labor- 
ers, the father could have hired as many as he 
liked. He was not poor. But it wasn’t the work 
that he wanted. He wanted his son.” 

“ And then didn’t give him a bit of credit for 
staying,” said Tom. “ I don’t suppose it will ever 
happen to me to do a fine thing ; but if it should, 
I shall want somebody to know it, and give me a 


112 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


pat on the back for doing it. T want all my good 
deeds to be recognized as they deserve ! ” 

“Then it wouldn’t be the doing of the fine 
thing, but the getting due credit for it, that 
you would aim at,” said Louis. “ That spoils the 
doing.” 

“Can’t help it,” Tom rejoined good-naturedly. 
“I’m only human, at present; ‘a human boy’ 
Dickens’s Chadband would call me. There’s noth- 
ing angelic or heroic about me yet.” 

There was a general laugh ; the fact was so very 
self-evident. 

“ It seems to me,” Miss Cecil said, “ that noble 
deeds are generally done just from a desire to do 
one’s duty. When the desire is strong enough to 
cause all consequences to be forgotten, or risked, 
we call the act heroic, or chivalric ; but it is stij.1 
duty, at the bottom.” 

“ I fancy those knights of old times had an eye 
to their own glory,” said Tom. “ They were 
human, as well as I.” 

“I have no doubt they did,” she replied, “or 
they would not have taken such delight in hear- 
ing their own praises sung. But when we speak 
of a chivalric action or of a knightly deed, we 
mean, you know, that it is like the ideal knight, 
who has all the virtues, and none of the faults, of 
the real one.” 

“I think,” Charlie Ray said shyly, “that the 
John Maynard Mr. Gough told us about — you 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


113 


heard him, Miss Cecil, that night at Dene — did 
as brave a thing as anything that Ivanhoe, or 
Bayard, or any of the rest of them, ever did : and 
he couldn’t have been thinking of glory at all; 
it was only his duty, and his care for others. I 
thought of him when you were talking about the 
firemen.” 

“ Yes, I remember,” Miss Cecil said. 

“ But — excuse me — the rest of us don’t ! ” said 
George. “ What did he do? Tell it, Charlie.” 

“ Oh, I can’t. Nobody could tell that but Mr. 
Gough,” Charlie answered. 

“ But he isn’t here, and you are,” Horace said. 
“ Come, give us an idea of it, anyway. Who was 
the man ? and what did he do ? ” 

“ He was a pilot on Lake Erie,” Charlie said. 
He began with a little timidity, but soon forgot 
himself in the interest of his narration. It had 
made a great impression on him when he heard it 
from the lips of the inimitable Gough ; and though 
he told the story now in his boyish way, he was 
so earnest about it that it touched the hearts of 
his listeners. 

“ He was noted among the other pilots for his 
skill, and his religion. He was steering a steamer 
from Detroit to Buffalo one day, when the captain 
saw smoke coming up from below, and he sent a 
man down to see what the matter was. The ship 
was on fire ! They did their best to put it out, 
but it gained on them fast. They had ever so 


114 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


much rosin and tar on board, and the fire burned 
so furiously that they could do nothing with it. 
They were seven miles from the nearest land, and 
at the best it would take them three-quarters of 
an hour to get there. They had no boats, so their 
only hope was to get the steamer to land. Mr. 
Gough said it was running a race with fire, and 
life was the prize of the victor. 

“ The smoke was already bursting out at the end 
where the pilot was. He sent everybody to the 
other end of the ship, and stayed there alone at 
his post, with the smoke curling up round him. 
The flames broke out in a sheet of fire between 
them, and hid him from them. All their lives 
depended upon him. The captain cried out to 
him through his trumpet. He answered, and he 
told him which way to steer, and to run the ship 
on shore. 

“ She came nearer and nearer to the land, but the 
fire was gaining too. The captain shouted again. 
This time he could hardly hear Maynard’s voice, 
it was so faint, and the roar of the fire was so 
loud, but a smothered ‘ Ay, ay, sir,’ reached him. 
‘Can you hold on five minutes longer, John?’ 
the captain shouted, and the answer came back 
through the smoke and flame, ‘By God’s help, 
I will ! ’ He was steering in the fire, boys ! His 
hair and his clothes were burned off ; he was suffo- 
cated with smoke, and one hand was burned so 
badly that he could not use it, but he managed to 
steer with the other, and stood firm as a rock. 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


115 


“He beached the ship, and every man, woman, 
and child on board was saved. They owed their 
lives to Maynard; but he, blinded and burned, 
dropped overboard into the water, and died — a 
hero’s death ! ” 

There was another silence, but this time it was 
only because no one could speak. 

“ You were right, Miss Cecil,” Tom said at last. 
“ That was duty and self-sacrifice ; there could be no 
thought of glory or fame at such a time. And it 
makes Ivanhoe’s fight there, which T thought was 
so grand, look like child’s play,” he ended, giving 
the picture a little push. 

“ I must say I like the bravery that shows itself 
in some magnificent deed like that,” George 
Baker said, “better than the patient, everyday 
heroism of that farmer. There seems so much 
more manliness about it. A woman could do one, 
— I dare say a good many women do, — but it 
takes a man for the other.” 

“ Well, there was self-sacrifice in both,” Louis 
said thoughtfully ; “ but one was a sharp, splendid 
thing, all ended in three-quarters of an hour, and 
the other a long, steady pull for twenty years. 1 
know which would be the hardest for me ! ” 

“ I’m afraid that patient endurance of anything 
doesn’t belong to the list of my virtues,” Harry 
said. “It always seemed to me, as George just 
said, more of a woman’s merit than a man’s. I 
like a man to be a man, every inch of him, and to 


116 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


do splendid things, man-fashion ! I should like to 
do something myself in that line, if I had the 
chance.” 

“ I suppose men and women do look at such 
things differently,” Horace said, evidently class- 
ing himself with “the men,” and casting a half- 
apologetic glance at Miss Cecil, who only laughed. 

“I fancy our ideal knight would not be so 
very unlike yours,” she said gayly. “At least, 
there would be no more difference than between 
your ideal woman and ours. I have a description 
of him somewhere, which I should like to read 
to you.” 

She went to her desk, and turned over her 
papers for a minute or two ; then came back to 
them with the papers she sought, and a copy of 
Palgrave’s “ Golden Treasury.” 

“ I have Richard Crashaw’s ideal woman here,” 
she said, opening the little book, “ and I am going 
to read you a few verses of it, because the other 
is its companion picture, and you could hardly 
appreciate the second without knowing something 
of the first. 

“ Whoe’er she be, 

That not impossible she, 

That shall command my heart and me. 

***** 

‘ * I wish her beauty 
That owes not all its duty 
To gaudy tire, or glist’ning shoetie, 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


117 


“ Something more than 
Taffeta or tissue can, 

Or rampant feather, or rich fan. 

“ A face that’s best 
By its own beauty drest, 

And can alone command the rest. 

“ Sydneian showers 
Of sweet discourse, whose powers 
Can crown old Winter’s head with flowers. 

***** 

“ Life, that dares send 
A challenge to his end, 

And when it comes, say ‘ Welcome, friend.’ 

“ I wish her store 
Of worth may leave her poor 
Of wishes ; and I wish — no more ! ” 

“ Good reason why,” said Tom. “ When your 
pitcher is full, what is the use of pouring in 
more ? ” 

“I hope the other is as good as that,” Willie 
said, as Miss Cecil put down the book and took 
up her paper. “ A pretty woman, who cares for 
something besides dress, knows how to talk, and 
lives a life worth living ! ” he summed up. “ That’s 
saying a good deal.” 

“ You shall judge,” she returned. “ I don’t know 
the author of this, but it describes her ideal man, 
the Bayard of to-day.” 


118 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


“ Whoe’er he be, 

That not impossible he, 

To be hereafter lord of me, 

“ Though he now lie 
Where mortal naked eye 
Cannot his shape descry, 

“ I do believe that he, 

Most verily, 

In flesh and blood doth wait for me. 

“ I wish him beauty, 

That owes not all its duty 

To arts of dress, — pins, rings, or blue tie; 

“ Something more than 
Hats or blacking can. 

Which make the fop, and not the man.” 

An irrepressible burst of hearty laughter inter- 
rupted the reader. 

“ Whoever wrote that doesn’t believe in dudes,” 
said Harry. 44 She goes in for beauty unadorned ; 
a man, and not a fop.” 

44 Hats and blacking are good enough things in 
their places,” Charlie observed. 

“ Yes, if one has the 4 something more ’ that she 
speaks of,” Horace said. 44 But even with that 
there is something in it. A man doesn’t look half 
as much of a man when he is rigged out in a dress 
coat, with kid gloves and a stove-pipe hat, as he 
does when he is dressed for a day in the woods, 
with a suit of flannel, or a belted blouse, and straw 
hat. Some of the most roughly dressed men I 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


119 


saw out West were perfect pictures of manliness, 
straight and strong and active, and the absence of 
4 the arts of dress ’ was all in their favor.” 

44 T was thinking of Cooper’s Leatherstocking,” 
said George. “ He was a fine specimen of a man, 
in his own rough dress ; but if you put him in a 
tailor’s hands, it would take all the manhood out 
of his looks, if it didn’t out of him.” 

“ Seems to be the sentiment that the picture is 
correct so far, then,” said Harry. 44 Please go on, 
Miss Cecil.” 

“ An eye that’s bright 
With youth’s own eagle light, 

And needs no ‘glass ’ for sight.” 

“ Now that is rather hard on near-sighted peo- 
ple,” Willie said, swinging on one finger the eye- 
glasses that he always carried hanging from a chain 
round his neck. 44 My eyes are young enough, so 
far as that goes, but I am afraid their 4 eagle light ’ 
wouldn’t carry me far, so there’s no chance for 
me.” 

44 Oh, don’t despair,” Horace said consolingly. 
44 1 fancy that was sent to the address of the afore- 
said dudes, who carry a glass for fashion’s sake, 
when they don’t need it any more than a squirrel 
needs a ladder.” 

44 My glasses are a necessity, any way,” said 
Willie. 

“ A stately form, and tall, 

Highest in field and hall, 

As was of old, King Saul.” 


120 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


44 Rather hard on short people, like you and me, 
Louis,” said George, in his turn. 44 1 don’t see but 
that we are left out in the cold, as well as Willie.” 

“ Let’s grow ! ” said Louis promptly. 

“Oh, there’s a chance for you,” Willie said. 
“There’s time enough before you, and see how 
you have been shooting up lately. You may 
measure six feet in your stockings yet ! ” 

“ Standing among men, proud, 

With a free step, uncowed, 

With a high head, unbowed.” 

“That’s the kind of man 1 like,” said Louis. 
44 Wasn’t that verse fine ? I do like this so much ! ” 

“ Tender to woman’s tears, 

Pity for maiden’s fears, 

Kind words for children’s ears.” 

“ Now T call that finer,” said Charlie. “ It is like 
something I read the other day about 4 the tender- 
ness of the strong being doubly sweet.’ ” 

“ I’ll agree to that,” said Louis. 44 But of course 
this verse belongs with the one before it. Put- 
ting the two together makes a magnificent man.” 

44 A true heart, and a clear head, 

Yet not all Euclid-bred, 

Or on stale classics fed ; 

“ One who can ride to hounds, 

And loveth sylvan sounds, 

But is not 4 horsey ’ without bounds. 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


121 


“ One who can steer and scull, 

A ‘ biceps ’ that can pull 
Up-stream a whole boatful.” 

44 Oh, hurrah ! ” called out two or three together. 
There was a little breeze of laughter and chatter, 
and a general seconding of Louis’ eager request. 

“ Please read that once more.” 

“ That’s fine, if you like,” said Harry. “ That’s 
what I call a real man.” 

“ Yes, indeed,” said Horace. “ Tall, arid straight, 
and strong, can ride a bucking broncho, and pull 
stroke oar, has a clear brain of his own, and a kind 
heart ; no student, bent double over his books, 
looking 4 pale and interesting,’ — fudge ! This is 
my ideal man. I don’t know what more anybody 
could want.” 

Miss Cecil answered with the remaining verses. 

u Yet with a soul, and parts 
For finer, gentler arts, 

That live in noble hearts ; 

“ One who can rise and sing 
When maidens wake the string, 

And softest cadence fling. 

“ A fair, good name, 

Perhaps no renown or fame, 

At least, no taint of shame. 

“ A manly grace, 

That looks you in the face, 

And owns to no disgrace. 


122 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


“ Now, if Time knows 
This him, for whose high brow» 

There waits my wreath of vows, 

“ He that dares be 
What these lines wish to see, 

I seek no further — it is he ! ” 

“ ‘ It is he ! ’ ” Tom repeated with a comical face. 
“ I should think it was, just he ! She had better 
‘seek no further’! Who ever saw such a mar- 
vel of a man ? ” 

“Well, I guess you don’t expect to often see 
ideal men walking with two feet on the common 
earth,” Willie said. 

“ Do you mean that they walk on four feet ? ” 
Tom inquired. “ I’m not posted about them.” 

“ 1 mean that I fancy they generally use wings 
to go about with,” Willie answered. 

“I’ve heard my grandmother talk about a Sir 
Charles Grandison, the hero of some famous book, 
written ages ago,” said George. “From her ac- 
count of him, I should say that he might fill the 
bill, if he was only alive.” 

“ Or ever had been,” added Tom. 

“ Don’t despair, boys,” said Miss Cecil ; “ I think 
you will find that you each know quite a number 
of people, who will answer in all essential points 
to the description.” 

Though she controlled her face and voice per- 
fectly, as she thought, there was something in- 
definable remaining, which assured the observant 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


123 


boys that she at least knew where to look for 
one. 

“You know you have already proved to-night 
that you don’t always recognize true knights when 
you see them,” she continued. 

“ Ah, that was because we were not looking for 
them so near home,” Charlie said. 

“ Or because you thought of the knights of the 
old chivalric days as being more heroic, and having 
higher aims, than men have now, which was a mis- 
take. They aimed at victory, for the sake of glory ; 
the knights of to-day aim at duty, for conscience’ 
sake, and they do it even when it brings them face 
to face with death. You could find our ideal man 
almost anywhere in our land.” 

“ I think I’ll go on a hunt ! ” said Tom. 

“ You would not have to go far,” she replied. 
“It isn’t necessary to follow out all the smaller 
points; that he should have ‘a stately form and 
tall,’ for example, or be able to ‘rise and sing, 
when maidens wake the string.’ He might have 
some other accomplishment that was quite as much 
to the purpose, though he could not sing a note ; 
and inches don’t make a man. 

“ But take only the general characteristics : that 
lie is courteous and gentle to women and children, 
while he holds his own among men; has a true 
heart, a clear head, and a good name ; physical 
strength and grace, and a frank, cordial manner, — 
don’t you all. know men who will answer that 


124 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


description ? I am sure you do ; and I don’t 
know any reason why every one of you shouldn’t 
become just such a man.” 

“ I don’t suppose it would hurt any of us to try 
for it, at any rate,” Louis said. 

“ Nor I,” said Harry. “ The higher a fellow 
puts his mark, the higher he shoots.” 

“ But though I like this as much as you do, as 
far as it goes,” Miss Cecil said, looking at the 
verses, “it is not quite my ideal yet.” 

“What? More still?” Tom said, in ludicrous 
surprise. 

“ More still,” she assented. “ To my mind, the 
author has left out the crown of the whole, and 
1 should want another verse added.” 

“What would it be?” Harry asked curiously. 
“Body, mind, accomplishments, disposition, man- 
ners, character ; the verses took them all in. 1 
can’t think of anything more.” 

“ Not even a heart? ” said Miss Cecil. “ I’m not 
much of a poet, and I could say what I want to 
have added much better in plain prose than in 
rhyme. Let me see; I think it should run some- 
thing like this : — 

“ A heart to beat, 

With love and reverence sweet, 

That lays the whole at Jesus’ feet. 

“ I should put in something like that just before 
the last two verses. I don’t think any character, 
real or ideal, can be complete, fully rounded out, 
that leaves out loyalty to God.” 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


125 


She said it in exactly the same tone that she had 
used in discussing the other verses, and the boys 
took it in just the same way. 

An old Scotchwoman once asked her grandson 
to read the newspaper to her. He was proud of 
his skill in reading, and wishing to impress her 
with a due sense of it, he imitated, as far as possi- 
ble, the manner of his minister. The poor boy 
was greatly surprised, when, instead of giving him 
the praise he expected, the old woman sprung up, 
and cuffed his ears vigorously, exclaiming with 
indignation : — 

44 I’ll teach ye, ye ne’er-do-weel, to read the news- 
paper with the pulpit twang ! ” 

Miss Cecil never used a “pulpit twang” in 
speaking of religious things. It was said of Dr. 
Goodell of St. Louis, that it was just as natural for 
him to make a religious remark as to make one 
about the weather; and it was as true of Miss 
Huntington. It was not as a duty, but as a 
pleasure, that she did it ; for it was pleasant and 
natural to speak of the theme of which she often- 
est thought, and she always used the same bright, 
cheery tone and manner that she used in speaking 
of other things. 

So her boys were not repelled by a sanctimo- 
nious tone, or a long face, but came to believe that, 
to their teacher at least, religion was a delight, 
and “heaven, and the way thither,” among the 
pleasantest subjects she could talk about, they 
came so naturally from her lips. 


126 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


“ But you make it harder than it was before,’' 
Tom objected. “If you put the mark too high, 
one will have no courage to shoot.” 

“ Oh, this makes it easier,” she answered bright- 
ly. “ Of course, I don’t mean that it would make 
you grow taller, or teach you how to row or to 
sing, but all the rest of it is nothing but religion 
put into every-day life. With that one thing 
added, it is just a description of a true Christian 
gentleman, and that is something that you all can 
be, and that I hope you all will be.” 

“I should like to copy those verses, if I may, 
Miss Cecil,” Louis said. “ It will be a good thing 
to have a pattern that one can look at once in a 
while.” 

“Let’s all do it,” Harry proposed. “We can 
keep them for a kind of reminder of our knight 
evening.” 

“ That’s a good idea,” said Willie. 

“Will you let me copy them for you?” Miss 
Cecil asked. 

“ Oh, thank you ! ” Louis said, speaking for all. 
“We shall care a great deal more for them. And 
please put your verse in with the rest.” 

“Very well. That, or something better,” she 
said. “ And you shall have them next Sunday.” 

At this point Ulla came in, and looking a little 
shyly at the boys, said to her young mistress, in 
a low voice : — 

“ Aunt Huldah bids me tell you the refreshments 
is ready.” 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


127 


Tom Perkins’ lips twitched in an incipient laugh; 
but Willie, who was nearest him, gave him a gentle 
pinch, and a whispered admonition. 

“Take care ! Don’t forget so soon ! We were 
to be courteous to women.” 

“ Ulla is nothing but a girl ! ” Tom whispered 
back. 

“‘To women and children,’” Willie quoted. 
“ She is one or the other, anyway ; and if we are 
going to begin right, I don’t believe we ought to 
laugh at her mistakes.” 

“No more do I,” said Tom. “ How should she 
know any better? I don’t talk straight myself, 
half the time.” 

And thereupon he became pretern'aturally grave, 
and looked round to see if any one had noticed 
that he had been tempted to laugh. 

Meantime, a new idea had occurred to Miss 
Cecil, and she took her guests into council. 

“ I have some ice cream and strawberries for 
you, boys,” she said. “Would you rather go into 
the dining-room, and eat them in propriety and 
state, or take them out on the veranda for a little 
feast by moonlight? You shall do as you choose.” 

From the expression of their faces, as they 
glanced out to the moonlit veranda, she had no 
doubt of their choice ; but they looked at each 
other, and each waited for some other one to 
speak. 

“ Perhaps we can find the sense of the meeting 


128 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


by a vote,” she said, to the great amusement of 
Ulla, who waited until the point should be de- 
cided. “ Those in favor of the dining-room will 
say Aye ! ” 

Dead silence followed, and then a general laugh. 

“We shall all vote for the moonlight, Miss 
Cecil,” Harry said. “ Only see how pleasant it 
looks out there.” 

“ But were you all afraid to say so ? ” she asked, 
beginning to remove flowers and books from a little 
table, in which she had instant help. “We shall 
want this carried out, and some chairs. Will any 
one volunteer for that duty ? ” 

Chairs and table found themselves on the other 
side of the window in a twinkling, and the party 
were presently established in great comfort on the 
wide veranda, where Ulla supplied each with a 
saucer of strawberries, duly sugared and creamed. 

“ How delightful this is ! ” Tom said, with great 
satisfaction. 

“Meaning the strawberries?” asked Horace. 

“Meaning the whole thing; the strawberries, 
and the moonlight, and the company,” Tom re- 
joined, embracing the whole with a sweeping ges- 
ture. “It makes me feel very comfortable and 
contented ! ” 

“ That is exactly the effect it has upon me ! ” 
said a voice close by. “ On the principle of sym- 
pathy between great minds, I conclude that you 
must be a remarkably sensible young man, Tom ! ” 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


129 


No one in the midst of the pleasant commotion 
of voices, — for all seemed to be talking together, 
— had heard the sound of the closing gate, or of a 
step on the gravelled walk ; but still there stood 
Dr. Gardiner. 

“Good evening, Miss Huntington,” he said, 
raising his hat. “ May I join this pleasant party ? 
I am glad to see that I am just in time to come in 
for a share of the good things going. It is better 
fortune than a self-invited guest deserves. I am 
boy enough still to enjoy goodies. Oh, thank 
you, Ulla,” as she brought him a chair, and Miss 
Cecil gave him a dish of berries, and put the cake- 
basket within his reach. “Now I’m going to be 
4 comfortable and contented,’ Tom.” 

The boys were inclined to be rather shy of the 
newcomer at first. They felt a little as if the 
brave deed, of which they had just heard, had put 
him up on a pinnacle, out of their reach. But it 
was impossible to resist his frank cordiality, and 
presently they were all chatting happily together. 
The strawberries disappeared like dew before the 
sun, followed by the ice-cream, which was a much- 
prized novelty to most of the boys. 

44 Now, if we had only one thing more, Miss 
Cecil,” Louis said coaxingly, after whispering a 
minute with the boys nearest him, while Ulla 
carried away the dishes. 

“Well, what is it, Louis?” she said encourag- 
ingly. 44 If it is anything I can get for you, I am 


130 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


safe in promising it, since I haven’t a kingdom to 
divide. Not the roc’s egg, is it?” 

“ No, indeed,” he said. “ I don’t know what 
that is, only that it isn’t what we want. But if 
you would sing for us a little ? It would be so 
delightful, music and moonlight together ! ” 

“ Very well,” she said readily. “ What shall I 
sing? ” 

“Oh, anything,” Louis said. “We don’t care 
what it is. The multiplication table, if you 
choose ! We all like so much to hear you sing.” 

“ It will put the crown on our evening,” Harry 
said gallantly, drawing his chair nearer, and pre- 
paring to listen. “ So say we all of us.” 

“ I am very glad that I can give you pleasure so 
easily,” Miss Cecil said. “I didn’t know what 
impossible thing you might be going to ask.” 

She began immediately, and presently Dr. Gar- 
diner’s fine tenor voice chimed in with her sweet 
soprano. 

They began with college songs, of which Miss 
Cecil had good store, to the perfect delight of 
their auditors, who soon caught up the choruses, 
and joined in them with great zest and striking 
effect. 

Windows were softly pushed up in the neigh- 
boring houses, as the sweet sounds floated out on 
the still evening air, and a clapping of hands was 
heard once or twice, after some particularly suc- 
cessful song, to the great amusement of the hoys. 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


131 


The parlor door, too, was gently opened, and from 
where Miss Huntington sat, she could see Ulla 
and Aunt Huldah enjoying their share of the 
music. 

The college songs were followed by one or two 
ballads, which Dr. Gardiner suggested, and then 
the stirring notes of 

“ Onward, Christian soldiers, 

Marching as to war ! ” 

rang out. Every voice joined in that, and Miss 
Huntington, hearing Ulla’s clear strong alto min- 
gling with the others, called her to come and sing 
with them. One after another named a favorite 
hymn, or Miss Cecil or Dr. Gardiner began one 
without naming it, and the others joined in as 
soon as they caught the first notes. From the 
auditors at the adjacent windows, too, other 
voices added themselves to the chorus, and the 
impromptu concert grew in interest. 

The time passed so quickly, that the young 
guests were astonished when the striking of the 
clock told them the hour. They stayed not on 
the orcter of their going, but hurried away. 

“ It was so pleasant, that we never thought how 
late it was getting,” Harry said, by way of apology. 
“We have had just the most delightful evening, 
Miss Cecil ! ” 

“ So have I,” she said sincerely. “ I am glad you 
have enjoyed it, for you will perhaps be willing 
to come again.” 


132 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


Late as it was, she detained Louis for a few 
minutes, while she filled a little basket with 
strawberries for Freda. 

“ Give them to her with my love,” she said, 
“and tell her I shall come to see her to-morrow.” 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


133 


CHAPTER VI. 


“Let us be content, in work, 

To do the thing we can, and not presume 
To fret because it’s little.” 


Mrs. E. B. Browning. 



'HE next day was a red-letter day for Freda. 


It is true that she was alone for a good many 
of its hours, while Louis was at school, or at the 
Lawrence farm, and Mrs. Thorne was away 
searching for work. 

But while Louis was at home, he had a great 
deal to tell her about the night before, and when 
he left her, she had her basket of strawberries, 
which she kept on a table by her bed, indulging 
herself, at long intervals, with eating one, and 
then amusing herself by selecting the one which 
should go next. The little basket held a won- 
derful amount of pleasure for the lonely child. 

But a greater delight was in store for her in the 
afternoon. Miss Huntington came to make her 
promised visit, and she brought for her some of 
the very ice cream which Louis had tried, without 
much success, to describe to her. 

The little dish was packed in ice, and the mere 
sight of it seemed to make the hot room cooler. 
Miss Cecil asked directions for finding a spoon, 


184 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


and herself put the first taste between the child’s 
hot, parched lips, quite repaid for her trouble by 
seeing the expression of delight which overspread 
her face, and hearing her exclamations of pleasure. 

Freda made the treat last as long as possible, 
taking little bird-like pecks at it, and when it was 
gone, she begged her friend to sing to her, as she 
did to the boys. “ And so I heard some of the very 
same songs she sung to you last night,” she told 
Louis afterwards with great glee ; and then she 
told her stories, till the little girl had enough to 
think of for days, living that happy afternoon 
over again in her thoughts, whenever she was 
left alone. 

Before Miss Cecil went away, Mrs. Thorne came 
home, tired, and still having met with no success, 
but not discouraged. 

“ It is darkest just before dawn,” she said to her 
sympathizing visitor. “ I often have to remind 
myself of that. And yet we are not so badly off 
as we might be, for I have enough left from my 
last straw work for our most pressing needs, and 
Louis earns a little every day now. If we had to 
depend entirely upon his earnings, it would be 
rather bad, but I hope to find something to do 
before my purse is empty. I thought I should 
easily find plain sewing, but no one seems to have 
it for me. I feel sure there must be some work 
somewhere waiting for me, if 1 can only find it ! ” 

“ I will ask my good Huldah about it,” Miss 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


135 


Cecil promised. “ She often finds the way out of 
a difficulty when 1 cannot, and she will be likely 
to know more about the possibility of getting 
work than I do.” 

Huldah interested herself in the matter at once, 
and went to see Mrs. Thorne as soon as possible. 

“When people just settle back at their ease, 
and wait for their friends to support them, I 
have no patience with them,” she said, “ and noth- 
ing to say to them ; for if I once began freeing 
my mind, I should be sure to say too much, so I 
stop before I begin; but when people only ask 
for a chance to work, I think they ought to have 
it, and I’m glad to help them get it.” 

So thinking, she sympathized heartily with Mrs. 
Thorne. 

“ Of course you want to stay at home with that 
poor child,” she said, “ if there’s any work to be 
had that will allow it. It is pretty hard for her to 
be left alone so much, though she is so good about 
it. But plain sewing ! Why, you wouldn’t earn 
enough by your needle, in these days of sewing- 
machines and ready-made garments, to buy the 
salt for your porridge ! ” 

“ My needle earned enough to support us while 
my straw work lasted,” Mrs. Thorne said, drawing 
herself up a little. 

“ Oh, yes, I dare say, but that is different from 
plain sewing,” Huldah rejoined. “ People in this 
place are not rich enough to hire their sewing 


136 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


done, and pay living prices for it; and they do 
their own fancy work, for the pleasure of it. 
Then there’s not the ghost of a chance to find a 
place in any of the so-called ‘lady-like occupa- 
tions,’ — school teacher, clerk, companion, or the 
like. There’s a perfect rush whenever there is a 
vacancy. There’s a music-teacher to every piano 
in town, even if you knew how to play.” 

“ Which I don’t,” Mrs. Thorne interjected. 

“Now, if you had ever learned a trade, it would 
come in handy. Do you know anything about 
milliner’s work? About dress-making? That’s 
a pity. It would have given you a chance. 
There’s Emma Daniels and Mary Roberts driven 
half to death with work, and people have to en- 
gage them months beforehand. If you knew their 
trade, and were content to work at reasonable 
prices, you would soon find that you had your 
hands full. But if you don’t, you don’t, and 
there’s an end of that.” 

She reflected a little. 

“ For the real hard work of common people, the 
door is always open,” she said with some hesita- 
tion, “ and there’s always room for more. There 
are two or three women, like Mrs. O’Brien, in 
town, who make a very good living by going out 
washing and house-cleaning. They are always 
in demand. Maggie says if she had twenty fin- 
gers instead of ten, there need not be an idle one 
among them. But you are not strong enough for 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


13T 


that kind of work, even if you were willing to 
do it.” 

“ That 4 if ’ is very unnecessary,” Mrs. Thorne 
said quickly. “ I am willing to do anything. 
But I am afraid I could not work all day, as Mrs. 
O’Brien does, and such work must be finished 
when it is begun. I have often envied her 
strength.” 

“ You could not do house-cleaning as she does, 
certainly,” said Huldah; “and then, there’s Freda. 
But I have an idea. I heard Mrs. Russell saying 
to Miss Huntington the other day, that she was 
without help now, and would be glad to do her 
own housework for awhile, if she could only find 
any one who would take her weekly washing home, 
and bring it back to her nicely ironed. I presume 
she would be glad to give it to you ; and if I could 
find some one else who would like to make the 
same arrangements, would you be strong enough 
to take the two ? ” 

“I think so,” Mrs. Thorne said; “I can but 
try.” 

“ It would not be so hard as working all day and 
every day, like Maggie O’Brien,” said Huldah, 
“ and you would be at home with Freda. It seems 
to me that it might answer very well until some- 
thing better turns up. It will not interfere with 
your doing something else the rest of the time.” 

“ I shall be very glad of the work,” Mrs. Thorne 
said without hesitation. “ The money for it will 


138 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


be a great help, and I think I am quite strong 
enough to undertake two washings, and do some- 
thing more, if I can get it.” 

“ Then I will call at Mrs. Russell’s before I go 
home,” Huldah said, rising. She never let grass 
grow under her feet. “ Perhaps she may be able 
to tell me of some one else.” 

“ But you must let me thank you, Miss Hul- 
dah,” Mrs. Thorne said. “You are bringing me 
just the help I wanted, and 1 am very grateful to 
you.” 

“ Not at all,” Huldah said briskly. “ It is only 
a pleasure to help people who are willing to help 
themselves. We’ll have you well set up in the 
laundry business before long. I will watch for 
Louis when he comes home from school to-night, 
and send you word what Mrs. Russell says.” 

Any business that Huldah took in hand was 
pretty sure to be quickly and successfully done, 
she was so energetic, and so thoroughly in earnest 
about it. When Louis came from school at night, 
he brought a message from her, that Mrs. Russell’s 
basket would be ready Monday morning, and Mrs. 
Baker’s Wednesday. 

She had given him no explanations, and he was 
curious to know what the message meant, but was 
very indignant when he found out. It seemed to 
him a degradation for his mother to become a wash- 
erwoman, and he protested earnestly against it. It 
was all very well for women like Maggie O’Brien, 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


189 


he said, who were fit for nothing better; but his 
mother never should do it, and he begged for 
leave to go back and say that she had changed her 
mind. 

“ But I have not changed it, my dear boy,” his 
mother said. “ This, with what you can earn, will 
keep us above want until we are able to get some- 
thing better to do. And as for the rest, I hope 
my character as a lady does not depend on the use 
I make of my hands. If I am a lady when I am 
arranging flowers, or even when I am sewing straw, 
and something else when I stand at the wash-tub, 
it is just as well to find it out. You must be rea- 
sonable, Louis. What difference does it make 
whether I get my living out of a bunch of straw, 
or out of a tub of water ? If my work is different, 
I shall be the same.” 

“You may be the same, but people won’t treat 
you the same,” Louis said, with a disregard of 
grammar, but with a touch of worldly wisdom. 
“You know ever so many of the ladies in the vil- 
lage sew straw, just to get a little odd change for 
pocket-money ; it is such light, clean work, they say, 
and pays so well. Nobody thinks any the worse 
of anybody for doing that, because everybody 
does it ; but you never hear of any lady taking in 
washing ; only such people as Maggie O’Brien do 
that ; and they will put you on a level with her 
before you know it.” 

“ She won’t stay put, if they do ! ” Freda inter- 
posed indignantly. 


140 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


She had been looking from one to the othei in 
perplexity, during their talk, and finally put in her 
word. Louis could not help laughing. 

“I am not afraid of losing any friends that I 
really value,” Mrs. Thorne said quietly. “We 
must get the means of living from some source. 
Can you think of a better one ? Do you think I 
should be more respected, or more worthy of 
respect, if I accepted charity ? Of course, if I 
had my choice of work, I should hardly choose 
this ; but we must take what we can get, not what 
we want to get. It will not be so bad as you 
think; and even if it was, I would do more than 
this for my children.” 

“ You are just the dearest mother children ever 
had ! ” Louis exclaimed impulsively. “ You never 
think of yourself, I believe ; and it’s all the more 
reason why I should think of you. The sacrifices 
ought to be on my side instead of yours. I do 
wish I was a man, and then we’d see ! ” 

“You are getting on toward it quite fast 
enough,” his mother said, patting his shoulder. 
“At present you are doing a boy’s work, and do- 
ing it well, as far as I see, so I think we will 
be satisfied. And don’t make yourself unhappy 
about the washing. It is only a temporary expedi- 
ent, and a very good one. I don’t intend to be a 
washerwoman for the rest of my life, nor to have 
you dig potatoes for the rest of yours. But we 
will both make up our minds to do these things 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


141 


well, until we find something better to do, and I 
hope that you and I are never going to be ashamed 
of doing any honest work.” 

Louis shook his head, as if he was not quite 
sure of that ; but he only said : — 

44 If I ever am, I shall think of you and your 
wash-tub, and be ashamed of myself.” 

He did think of it to such purpose that, when 
Monday morning came, he not only found time to 
go for Mrs. Russell’s basket, which was a task 
against which he had mentally protested, but he 
went before his mother could ask him to do it, and 
even took the dry clothes from the lines at noon, 
and helped her to fold them. She would have 
been amused, if she had heard his reasoning. 

44 If mother can do her share, I can do mine,” 
he said to himself. 44 Perhaps this is a bit of the 
knightly service that Miss Cecil was telling us of. 
I’m sure I hate it as much as her friend hated 
farming. There’s no glory about a wash-tub, but 
there seems to be some duty, and that is the better 
thing. I can’t nurse yellow fever patients like Dr. 
Gardiner, but I can help mother to fold sheets. 
Miss Cecil said knights had to be squires first, and 
learn by practice, and we couldn’t begin too soon 
if we wanted to win our spurs. I guess this is my 
chance to begin. I know I can only do little 
things while I’m nothing but a boy, but I may as 
well be getting into training; and since I am going 
to help my mother, these clothes will do as well as 
anything else for a beginning.” 


142 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


So he sprinkled Willie Russell’s shirts, won- 
dered what Willie would say if he saw him doing 
it, and considered how “the Knight of the Wash- 
tub ” would sound in a tournament. 

Huldah not only secured the two washings for 
Mrs. Thorne, but she also found three ladies who 
were glad to pay a small sum for having their 
mending done each week. It was only a trifle, 
but, as she sensibly observed, “ Trifles help.” 

Putting the family earnings together, Mrs. 
Thorne was glad to feel moderately certain of 
keeping the wolf from the door for the present. 
Freda found the comfort of having her mother 
beside her with her mending-basket, or at least 
within reach of her voice ; and even Louis became 
accustomed to the new order of things. 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


143 


CHAPTER VII. 


“Just as I am, without one plea, 

But that thy blood was shed for me, 
And that thou bid’st me come to thee, 


O Lamb of God, I come ! ” 

— Charlotte Elliott. 


T the close of Sunday-school the week after 



their “ knight evening,” as they came to call 
it, Miss Huntington’s class received their verses 
according to her promise. They were written on 
thick, smooth cards, in her clear, pretty handwrit- 
ing, which Tom Perkins declared was “plainer 
than print, and twice as good.” To each copy 
was added a Scripture reference ; and Bibles came 
into requisition to find out what they were, before 
the boys separated. 

Harry found his first, and read it to the others : • 
“ Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like 
men, be strong.” 

Charlie Ray’s was, “ Be kindly affectioned one 
to another with brotherly love, in honor preferring 
one another.” 

“Most men prefer to keep all the honor they 
can get for themselves,” he commented. “ I don’t 
think I should call that an easy thing to do.” 


144 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


“ Perhaps, then, yon will think mine is easier,” 
said Willie. “ I’ll exchange. Just listen : — 

“ 4 Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things 
are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever 
things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, 
whatsoever things are of good report: if there 
be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on 
these things.’ 

44 1 suppose that means do them,” he said. 44 1 
think that covers the whole ground pretty well. 
If one could only do all that, he might be a knight 
4 sans peur et sans reproche.’ ” 

44 Don’t talk Greek ! ” said Horace. 44 Hear 
mine : — 

44 4 He that is slow to anger is better than the 
mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that 
taketh a city.’ 

44 According to that we can all equal Bayard.” 

44 1 don’t know about that. It isn’t a very easy 
thing to do sometimes,” Harry demurred. He 
had a quick temper, and knew the difficulty of 
controlling it. 44 I’m sure I have seen times when 
it would have been ever so much easier to drive a 
lance at somebody, or to dash at city ramparts, 
than to rein myself in.” 

44 Oh, well,” Horace said, 44 the text doesn’t say 
that it is easier to keep yourself in hand ; it only 
says it is better.” 

44 This is mine,” said Tom. 44 4 We then that are 
strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, 
and not to please ourselves.’ 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


145 


“ The 4 courteous and kind ’ was a free transla- 
tion of that, I take it.” 

44 That is what Miss Cecil’s farmer friend was 
doing, it seems to me,” said Charlie. 

“ Here’s another,” said George. 44 4 Their great 
ones exercise authority upon them, but so shall it 
not be among you ; but whosoever will be great 
among you shall be your minister, and whosoever 
of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.’ 

44 1 should say that was the kind of thing that 
Dr. Gardiner did.” 

44 So should I,” said Harry. 44 You come last, 
Louis.” 

44 So I ought ; for mine seems to sum up the 
whole,” Louis said, 44 and gets one ready for all 
yours. 

44 4 Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of 
God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil 
day, and having done all, to stand. 

44 4 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about 
with truth, and having on the breast-plate of 
righteousness ; and your feet shod with the prepa- 
ration of the gospel of peace ; above all, taking 
the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to 
quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 

44 4 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword 
of the Spirit, which is the word of God ; praying 
always with all prayer and supplication in the 
Spirit, and watching thereunto with all persever- 
ance.’ ” 


146 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


“ That gives a pretty good outfit, doesn’t it ? ” 
Tom said, not irreverently. 

“ I had no idea that there was such a description 
of a knight’s armor in the Bible, or, for that mat- 
ter, such a description of what a Christian knight 
ought to be as the other verses gave,” said Charlie. 
“ I suppose I ought to have known, but I never 
noticed them.” 

“We thought a knight needn’t be afraid of 
much, inside his helmet and coat of mail,” Louis 
said, putting his card carefully back into its enve- 
lope. “I’m sure one needn’t be afraid of any- 
thing with all this armor on. It would be very 
easy then to carry out all our texts.” 

“How nicely Miss Cecil got these cards up for 
us ! ” Willie said, looking again at his. “ Any- 
thing that she touches has just that look. They 
will stand a good deal of wear, too ; and I 
shouldn’t wonder if mine got it. It will pay to 
look at it once in awhile.” 

They had been standing in a group just outside 
of the church, under a large tree, while they 
looked up their references, and compared the 
cards. Now they strolled off together, chatting 
as they went, and only Harry noticed that Louis 
was not with them. 

“ If can’t be that old jacket again,” he said. 
“ He’s getting used to that. Unless he has heard 
somebody say something.” 

But they always walked home together, so he 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


147 


stepped back to find him. He saw him standing 
by the church door, looking in, and thought he 
was looking for him, so he said : — 

“ Here I am, Louis. Come along.” 

“ I thought you had gone. Don’t wait for me,” 
Louis said, with a little embarrassment. “ I’m 
stopping to speak to Miss Cecil for a minute, 
when she comes out, and Mrs. Brown is talking 
to her.” 

“ Oh, I’d just as soon wait as not. I’m not in 
any hurry,” Harry answered readily, the idea that 
his friend would have preferred his absence, and 
thought he had secured it, never occurring to him. 

Louis said no more ; he half moved as if to go 
with him ; but after that minute’s hesitation, his 
face took a more resolute look. He paid no more 
attention to Harry, who waited his pleasure, and 
amused himself by watching the departing congre- 
gation. 

Louis lingered by the door until Miss Hunting- 
ton came out. She had stayed to speak to a friend, 
and did not appear until almost every one had 
left the church ; but he kept his post, and waited 
patiently. 

Her face lighted up when she saw him, and a 
friendly glance and gesture brought him to her 
side. The three walked on together; but even 
then he seemed to have some difficulty in begin- 
ning what he wanted to say, and Harry wondered 
what it could be. 


148 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


“What is it, Louis?” Miss Cecil at last said 
kindly. “ You wanted to speak to me, didn’t 
you?” 

For answer he drew out his card. She began 
to understand. 

“ Is it about the armor ? ” she said. 

“ Yes,” he answered, and gaining firmness as he 
went on, he said frankly, “ I want it for myself, 
Miss Cecil. Will you tell me how I can get it ? ” 

Harry said nothing, but Louis could feel the 
surprise on his face, though he did not look at 
him, and now that the ice was fairly broken, he 
found that he did not care much for what any 
one might think. The one thing he did care for 
was the answer to his question. 

“You can only get it by asking God for it,” 
Miss Cecil said reverently. “No efforts of your 
own, nothing that you can do, will earn it or buy 
it. It is a free gift from God to those who choose 
to serve Him, and no others ever have it. Do you 
know how a soldier gets his uniform and equip- 
ments in our army? He doesn’t buy them; he 
can’t borrow them. He has only to enlist, to 
promise to serve as a soldier, and then everything 
is provided for him. It is exactly so in God’s 
army. You have only to enlist, and He supplies 
you with this complete armor. All you have to 
do in return is to thank Him, put it on, and use 
it.” 

“ But*,” Louis said thoughtfully, “ enlist ? I 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


149 


don’t think I understand. Enlist in God’s army ? 
How can I do it? What am I to do? ” 

“What would you do, if you wanted to be a 
soldier in the United States army?” Cecil an- 
swered. “ You would decide that you wanted to 
leave the civilian life with all its occupations, and 
its comparative freedom from rules ; and enter 
upon the military life, with the occupations that 
are peculiar to that, and submit to the rules that 
belong to it. You would think of what you were 
giving up, and what you were going to undertake, 
and make your choice between the two. Then 
you would pledge yourself to do it; in other 
words, you would enlist; and from that moment 
you would be a soldier, an awkward, untrained 
one at first, but still a soldier. That is exactly 
what you must do to join God’s army. You make 
your choice between the world and God, and you 
choose Him, and pledge yourself to serve Him.” 

“That is the thing that puzzles me,” said Harry, 
who had been listening with as close attention as 
Louis himself. “ You know I’m not a Christian, 
and so I suppose you would say that I have chosen 
the world instead of God. But I don’t choose it. 
I never did. What have I got to do with it, any- 
way? I don’t know anything about it. I hear 
Mr. Russell talking about it in his sermons, and it 
seems to be something wicked, but I don’t know 
what shape it takes. Here I am in School six 
hours a day, and I’m at hqme on the farm the 


150 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


other eighteen, as a general thing. Where does 
the chance for my 4 choosing the world ’ come in ? 
And how can I give up what I haven’t got, and 
never had, if I wanted to ever so much ? ” 

“Saying 4 the world’ is only a comprehensive 
way of speaking,” Miss Cecil said. “ Let me put 
it in other words, and you will understand it bet- 
ter, perhaps. Think over your life, all the things 
you have done since you can remember. Haven’t 
you done this, or that, or the other thing, because 
it was pleasant to do it, because it seemed reason- 
able to do it, because your friends wanted you to 
do it, because you were afraid of the consequences 
if you did not do it? Can you remember anything 
that you did only because you thought God wished 
you to do it, and you wanted to please Him?” 

Harry and Louis looked at each other, and each 
shook his head. 

“ That is what we mean by choosing the world,” 
said Miss Cecil. u It is letting something besides 
God’s will be the rule of your life. 4 The world ’ 
is only the general name for that something. You 
can see that it is in the schoolroom, and on the 
farm, as much as anywhere else. So when you 
enlist in God’s army, you give that something up, 
whatever it is. You are sorry that you have al- 
lowed it to govern your actions so long, and you 
promise that, with God’s help, it shall do so no 
longer, but that your first thought about every- 
thing shall be what God would wish you to do, 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


151 


and then that you will try to do it. That is what 
it means to be a Christian, a loyal servant of his 
King. He is sorry for the time he has spent in 
rebellion against Him, is grateful for the pardon 
which He is always ready to give to any one who 
asks for it, and is resolved to serve Him for the 
rest of his life. So he takes pains to find out 
what He wants him to do, and does it with all his 
heart.” 

“ But really,” said Harry, “ it doesn’t seem to 
me that all Christians do that ! What do you say 
to — ” 

He seemed going on to give examples. But 
she checked him. 

“ You may be sure that it is what all true Chris- 
tians want to do,” she said; “and though they 
often fail, they know of their failures even better 
than we, who are watching them, and they are 
more sorry for them, perhaps, than you guess. 
You can’t tell what they may have to fight against. 
But we need not look at them for examples, since 
we have a perfect one to imitate. If you wanted 
to know what kind of a soldier you should be, you 
would not look at the poorest soldiers in the army, 
who were continually making blunders and break- 
ing rules, and getting reprimanded and punished ; 
you would say you had nothing to do with them ; 
and you would look at the best men, who did their 
duty faithfully, were commended by their officers, 
and were in a fair way to promotion. Do as much 
in the Christian army.” 


152 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


They had reached her home, but she stopped a 
minute before going in. 

“I would not think about other people,” she 
said. “ Think about yourselves. Is there any 
reason why you should not pledge your lives to 
Christ now , to be used faithfully for His service ? 
Louis? Harry?” 

She turned from one to the other. 

“ I cannot promise now,” Louis said ; “ I will 
think of it.” 

“ So will I,” said Harry. 

“ Is it so hard to choose between God and the 
world, the something that has ruled your lives 
so far ? ” she said. “ Remember that I am praying 
for you, my dear boys, that you may listen to my 
Saviour’s call. Yes, He is calling you both. Don't 
think of anything else until you have decided 
how you will answer Him, and pray that He may 
help you to decide for Him.” 

“I will think of it,” Louis repeated very 
gravely. He seemed unable to say anything 
more. “ And I thank you, Miss Cecil.” 

Harry was silent ; but when they had left her, 
and had gone on a few steps, he turned, and 
looked steadily at Louis. 

“How long have you been thinking of this?” 
he demanded. 

“ Off and on for some time,” Louis said, answer- 
ing as directly as he was asked. “More, since 
our ‘knight evening’ at Miss Cecil’s, and most, 


CECIL’S KNIGHT . 


153 


since I read those verses about the armor to-day. 
I am sure she meant to show us that a true 
knight must be a Christian man. Don’t you 
remember her saying, the other night, that, ‘no 
ideal of character could be complete that left 
out loyalty to God’? I have thought of that 
very often since.” 

“‘Very often,”’ Harry repeated in an injured 
tone ; “ and yet you said not a word to me about 
it! Unless I had waited at the church for you, 
I suppose I should never have heard anything 
of it. Was it a thing that concerned nobody but 
you ? Why didn’t you tell me, if, as you say, you 
have been ‘thinking of it for some time’?” 

“ I didn’t suppose you would care about it.” 
Louis said, much astonished at being called to 
account in this way. 

“Well, it just happens that I do care,” Harry 
returned, in nowise mollified. “If people pre- 
tend to be friends, they ought to act like friends. 
And I don’t know any better way to find out 
whether I cared or not, than to ask me. I 
suppose I should be likely to give a civil answer, 
anyway. You are not so particular about other 
things. I don’t think you generally stop to ask 
whether I should probably be interested or not, 
before you tell me anything that concerns you. 
You just tell it, and see whether I care for it.” 

“I ought to have told you this,” Louis ad- 
mitted ; “ but better late than never. You know 
it now, at any rate.” 


154 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


“ So I do,” Harry said, “ after haying my breath 
taken away by your startling anouncement to 
Miss Cecil. I could hardly believe my ears. 
Now, the next thing I want to know is, what 
you are going to do about it ? ” 

“ I can’t do anything all in a minute,” said 
Louis ; “ I’m going to think it over, just as I 
told Miss Cecil. Now the question has come 
up, it has got to be decided, one way or the other. 
Letting it drop again would be the same thing 
as deciding it. I don’t dare to dispose of it in 
any way except one, and yet, you can see, Harry, 
it isn’t a thing a fellow can jump at. If I enlist, 
in our army for a certain time, I’m there, and 
I’ve got to stay there, whether I like it or not, 
till my time is up. But if I enlist in this other 
army, the time is never up. I must do it for 
always.” 

“ Of course you must,” Harry said. “ Only 
fancy anybody having Christ for his best friend 
for five years, and then giving Him up ! ” 

“Yes, I know it is ridiculous on the very face 
of it,” said Louis. “ But when one thinks of 
pledging himself, and all that he has, or ever 
may have, for all the rest of his life, it is a serious 
thing, and one ought to count the cost. You 
see such a pledge as this means a good deal.” 

“ I believe you ! ” said Harry. “ But while 
we are about it, we might ‘ count the cost ’ of 
not giving it.” 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


155 


“ 4 To find out what God’s will is in everything, 
and to do it,’ Miss Cecil said,” Louis went on, 
so engrossed in his own thoughts that he did 
not notice Harry’s suggestion. “ Suppose I wanted 
to do one thing, and I knew He wanted me to 
do another, could I always give up ? If I choose 
Christ for my Captain, and enlist with Him, it 
means promising always to give up my own 
wishes, when they are not like His, and to carry 
out His instead of mine. Ahvays! One can’t 
compromise on half the time. It is all, or nothing. 
Now, that is a good deal to promise, and I can’t 
give the pledge unless I really mean it, because 
He will know whether I mean it or not. There 
might come times when there would be a hard 
pull, for I do like to have my own way, some- 
times.” 

“ Yes, I know it,” Harry said, half smiling ; 
“but I guess there is such a thing as making 
His way your way. Growing so much like Him 
I mean, that the things He wants you to do will 
be just the things you want to do.” 

“ Perhaps,” Louis said a little doubtfully. “I am 
afraid I should have to be wonderfully changed. 
But that reminds me of another thing. Who 
knows what He might want me to do? Be a 
missionary perhaps ! And if I promise, I’ve got 
to do it, whatever it is. Do you remember that 
story that Miss Cecil told us of Earl Douglas ? ” 

Harry shook his head. “ I don’t think I heard 
it,” he said. 


156 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


44 Oh, I recollect; it was the day you were at 
your uncle’s,” Louis replied. 44 She said that af tex- 
tile death of Robert Bruce (that brave king of 
Scotland, you know ; the one who saw the 
spider), Douglas had his heart embalmed, and 
put in a casket, and wore it over his own 
heart. And once he was in the midst of a battle, 
lighting bravely, but surrounded by his enemies, 
and he found that he was going to be defeated 
unless something desperate was done. He snatched 
off the casket, and threw it with all his strength 
into the middle of his foes, shouting out, 4 Lead 
on, brave heart, as thou wast wont, and where 
thou leadest, Douglas will follow, or die.’ Don’t 
you see, it is the same thing here ? Where Christ 
leads, a Christian must follow, if it is into the 
thickest of the fight. I tell you, it is good deal 
to promise, Hariy, and if I do it, it must be with 
my eyes open. It is such a serious thing, that 
I don’t dare to give such a pledge on the impulse 
of a moment. Suppose I should enlist, and then 
show myself a cowardly deserter, when the first 
pinch came ! I’ve got to think it over.” 

44 But it seems to me that you forget that a 
soldier gets the armor as soon as he enlists,” 
Harry suggested. 44 He wouldn’t -be very likely 
to desert with that on. I don’t see how he 
could.” 

Louis looked at him as if taking in a new idea. 

“Sure enough,” he said slowly. 44 Well, it just 


CECIL'S * KNIGHT. 


157 


proves what I said, that I must think it over. 
But you know the good of that armor as well as I 
do. Why don’t you put it on yourself? Come 
with me, Harry, and let us begin together.” 

“ Come where ? ” said Harry. “ I thought you 
had not decided yet which way to take ! I had 
better see where you go, before I promise to go 
with you. I’ll think of it, as you say, but really 
there seems to be only one side to the question. I 
haven’t got so far as to think what I should do, 
if — and if — and if ! But I will think about it, 
and we can compare results in the morning. It is 
lucky for me that I waited for you to-day, but I 
don’t understand yet how you could get hold of 
such a thing, and keep it all to yourself.” 

“ How could I tell how you would take it ? If 
anything had been settled, it would have been 
different. When one is a Christian, it is his busi- 
ness to tell everybody he can. But I’m glad now 
that you waited to come home with me, though I 
did wish you were in Jericho,” Louis confessed, 
“ for a minute or two. I was enough of a coward 
to be afraid that you would laugh at me ; and if 
something had not impressed me with a feeling 
that I must speak to Miss Cecil then, come what 
might, I do believe I should have walked off with 
you, and said nothing about it.” 

«I should never have guessed that you were 
afraid,” Harry said dryly. “You kept it pretty 
well to yourself. It’s a new thing for you to be 


158 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


afraid of my laughing at you. If you really wanted 
that armor, I don’t see why you need care if every 
hoy in town laughed when you asked how you 
were to get it. I say, Louis,” he added in a dif- 
ferent tone, a minute later, “ do you suppose that 
4 something ’ that kept you there was the prompt- 
ing of the Holy Spirit, that Mr. Russell preached 
about last Sunday ? ” 

44 I never thought of it,” Louis said, much im- 
pressed by the suggestion. “ Could it have been 
that ? It did seem to be something outside of my- 
self that made me think at first of speaking to 
Miss Cecil, and then made me do it, even after 
you came, when I was half ashamed and half 
afraid. If it was the Holy Spirit, do you suppose 
He is watching to see what comes of it?” 

His voice was lower. He seemed to feel the In- 
visible Presence near him. 

44 1 don’t know,” Harry said. 44 If He did the 
one, I should think He would be likely to do the 
other. At any rate, it is wonderfully like what 
Mr. Russell said last Sunday. What I do know is, 
that Miss Cecil is praying for us ; for you know 
she said she should, and it seems to me that the 
best thing we can do is to pray for ourselves. I 
don’t suppose either of us have any doubt as to 
how we ought to decide ; and if we can’t bring our- 
selves to do it, I believe God can, and we had bet- 
ter ask Him to help us. That’s what I mean to 
do. Good by, Louis. I’ll see you in the morning.” 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


159 


He turned off on the short path through the 
fields to the farm ; and Louis went, more slowly, 
to his own home. 

He liiar veiled at Harry. No thought of this 
subject seemed to have occurred to him until he 
heard his friend speaking to Miss Cecil about it ; 
but he had taken it up with a ready interest that 
surprised Louis, when he compared it with his 
own reluctance, and the slow growth of conviction 
of need and of duty in his mind. 

44 And yet,” he reflected, 44 though he has but 
just thought of it, the way seems plainer to him 
than to me, and I do believe he is ever so much 
more ready to take it.” 

Louis did not understand that as there are soils 
in which the seed sown long lies dormant, but is 
ready to spring into life, and send up its tiny 
shoots of green, at almost the first ray of sunshine, 
or the first breath of the warm spring air, so there 
are hearts into which the seed of truth falls and 
lies, forgotten, as if dead, until some slight impulse 
from without wakes it into sudden and vigorous 
life. 

Freda did not find Louis as entertaining a 
companion as usual that day. It was difficult for 
him to give his attention to the book which he 
read to her, or to her eager talk, though he tried 
to do both; and he was relieved when at last, 
rather earlier than usual, he found himself in his 
own room for the night, free to do as he would 
without observation. 


160 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


He remembered Harry’s parting words : “ There’s 
no doubt how we ought to decide it; and if we 
can’t bring ourselves to do it, I believe God can, 
and we had better ask Hi,m to help us.” 

The words seemed to strike him with a new 
force. They had sounded strangely, coming from 
Harry’s lips ; but could anything be more reason- 
able? 

He knelt by his bedside and prayed most ear- 
nestly that God would help him to decide for him ; 
to be willing to give up his own will, and loyally 
serve his King. 

“ I know I ought to do it,” he said ; “ and thou 
knowest that I want to, but some way I can’t ! 
Something in my heart holds me back. Oh, God, 
help me ! I know thou canst ; and unless thou wilt 
help me, I never can do it ! ” 

The feeling of his utter helplessness seemed to 
overwhelm him, and reliance upon the Strong One 
was his only hope. 

A little later, he put out the light, and sat down 
by the window, in the moonlight, to “think it 
out,” and make his decision in the way he had 
planned to do it. 

But even as the angel flew to bring the answer 
to the prayer of Daniel, while the words were still 
upon his lips, telling him “ from the first day that 
thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to 
chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were 
heard,” so God had answered Louis while he 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


161 


prayed, though he came hut slowly to the con- 
sciousness of the fact. 

One by one he took up the reasons for delay, 
which had seemed so strong to him in the after- 
noon, but in some strange way they had lost their 
force. 

“ It is a serious thing to pledge oneself in that 
way,” he repeated ; and the mental response came 
quickly, “ How much more serious a thing it is 
not to do it ! ” 

“ It is for the whole of my life,” he said ; and 
his heart replied, “ What a blessed thought that 
is ! I am sure 1 don’t want to keep any of my life 
back from Him. Once His, I shall be always His.” 

“ But it is surrendering my own will, once for all. 
I shall have to give up my own way, continually ; ” 
and he answered sincerely, “ What do I want with 
my own will, when His is so much better ? I want 
to do just what He sets me about, in just the way 
that He shows me. What difference does it make 
what it is, when it is for Him ? He knows best 
what He wants of me. How could I take my own 
way so long, and refuse to obey Him ? Who else 
but He would ever forgive such treatment ? How 
can I ever be grateful enough? I will never 
grieve Him again.” 

There was no question of decision in this “ think- 
ing it over,” though he did not realize that the 
decision had really been made, the momentous 
step across the line of submission really taken, 


162 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


when lie confessed from the depths of his heart 
his own weakness, and fell back on God’s strength. 

But he did know that he had found a Friend, 
with whom it was pleasant to talk, and who was 
strong to help his weakness ; and before he slept, 
he knelt again, to tell Him how sorry he was for 
the past, and to pledge himself anew to His service 
for the future. 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


163 


CHAPTER VIII. 

“ Stand up ! Stand up for Jesus ! 

Stand in his strength alone ; 

The arm of flesh will fail you — 

Ye dare not trust your own : 

Put on the gospel armor. 

And, watching unto prayer, 

Where duty calls, or danger, 

Be never wanting there ! ” 

— Duffield. 

~T N the morning, Louis was impatient to see 
-L Harry, and he started for the Lawrence farm 
earlier than usual; but, early as it was, Harry 
was watching for him. Each looked eagerly at 
the other, and they spoke almost together. 

“ I have chosen Christ for my King, Harry ! ” 

“ I have found Jesus, Louis ! ” 

And they rejoiced together over their new hap- 
piness. The very sky seemed to be brighter, and 
the sunlight more cheery, than they had ever 
known before. 

Louis went for his hoe, and worked away at his 
potatoes with new zeal ; and Harry sat on an up- 
turned basket, and watched the stores that his 
busy hoe unearthed, while they talked. 

“ You don’t know how much you helped me, 
Harry,” Louis said, “by reminding me that God 


164 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


would make me willing to yield my will to His. He 
did it, when I asked Him, and I can only wonder 
at myself for hesitating a minute about it. I am 
quite sure that I would ever so much rather have 
Him direct my life now, than to do it myself, and 
I mean to do just what He wants me to, as fast as 
I find out what it is, whether I like it or not.” 

“I am sure I’m very glad if I did help you,” 
Harry said ; u but I guess I only blundered into 
it, as I do into most tilings, for I was not thinking 
so much of you as of myself when I said it. And 
you don’t know how much you helped me. Your 
speaking to Miss Cecil as you did, seemed to wake 
me up all of a sudden. Knowing that you wanted 
the Christian’s armor made me see that I needed 
it too ; and then what she said, showed me that I 
had really been marching under the other flag, 
when, if I had thought anything about it, I should 
have said that I was only a kind of a neutral.” 

“ Well,” Louis answered, “ I say as you did, that 
I’m glad if I helped you ; but it wasn’t because I 
was trying to do it, for I was only thinking of my- 
self. I believe it is time to stop being so selfish. 
As you said yesterday, such a thing ought not to 
be kept to oneself ; and if it could, I can’t keep it. 
I want to tell everybody. If we should tell the 
other boys that we have determined to follow 
Christ, don’t you believe they would go with us ? 
I do ; and I mean to try. It is only because they 
don’t know, or don’t think about it, any more 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


165 


than we did, that they are not Christians. Nobody 
could really think of it without knowing what his 
duty was, and then he would do it.” 

“ I’m not so sure of that,” Harry said, shaking 
his head over Louis’ wild assertion. 44 One may 
know one’s duty without doing it. I have proved 
that myself, many a time. But it does seem as if 
nobody could help loving Jesus, He is so good. I 
say, Louis, let’s start for school a little bit earlier 
this morning, and then we shall have time to stop 
at Miss Cecil’s for a minute. How glad she will 
be for us ! I can’t wait till night to tell her ! ” 

So it happened that Miss Huntington, sitting at 
work on the veranda a little before school time, 
heard the click of the gate-latch, and looked up to 
see the two boys, of whom she was thinking at the 
moment, coming towards her. Their bright faces 
told their own tale. She dropped her work, and 
held out both hands to them. 

44 Ah,” she said, 44 1 don’t think I need to ask 
how it is with you. I am sure you have seen my 
Captain since you left me yesterday, and have 
enlisted for the war.” 

“Yes,” Louis said, 44 we have; and I hope we 
shall be good soldiers. I am sure we mean to be.” 

44 That depends on yourselves, you know,” she 
said. 44 God gives you the armor, but He leaves it 
to you to say whether you will let it rust on your 
hands, so that it loses its beauty and half its 
value, or whether you will keep it bright with 


166 


CEGIL'S KNIGHT . 


constant use. If you think it is enough to know 
that you have it, so that you can use it if a special 
occasion comes, and content yourselves with put- 
ting it on once in a while, you will find that it 
doesn’t fit comfortably ; you will not feel at ease 
in it ; the weapons that you have, the sword of the 
Spirit, and the shield of faith, and good old Bun- 
yan’s favorite, which he called All-prayer, will 
seem strange to you, and you will not be skilful 
in their use.” 

“It seems to be like everything else,” Louis 
said. “ The oftener we do a thing, the easier and 
better we can do it.” 

“ Exactly,” Miss Cecil returned ; “ so keep your 
armor bright. And now I want you to remember 
this: your Christian character will, in all proba- 
bility, depend on the way you begin now; on 
what you do for the next few weeks. If you settle 
down into sponge Christians, taking in everything, 
and giving out nothing without a squeeze, you 
will be likely to stay sponges. If you begin by 
doing just as much for Christ as you can, you will 
find it so pleasant that you will be likely to keep 
on, and become active working Christians. So 
take care to begin right, my dear boys.” 

“That’s what we want to do,” said Harry. 
“ But please tell us how. What shall we do ? 
How shall we begin ? ” 

“ Keep your eyes open for the first bit of work 
that God gives you a chance to do,” she answered, 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


167 


smiling. “ It will come before you know it, and 
you may not see it unless you are on the watch. 
It may be to set a good example in some little 
thing, or to say a word for Jesus, or to persuade 
some one else to serve Him. But don’t be 
tempted to hide your flag under any circum- 
stances. Ah, I see you think that is the last 
thing you would ever do, but you don’t know 
what shape temptation may take. It never comes 
looking exactly as we expected it would. So 
stand by your colors, and be on the watch.” 

“ If there was nothing harder than that to do ! 
I don’t feel as if I should ever want to hide them,” 
Louis said. 44 1 never was afraid yet to say what 
I believed, and I don’t mean to begin now when I 
have just got hold of something worth telling. 
Think of being ashamed to have it known that one 
loves Christ, and means to serve Him ! I suppose 
that is hiding the colors. Why, I want to tell 
everybody about it ! ” 

44 1 am glad you do,” she said. 44 Then perhaps 
you will have no trouble in that particular way. 
Your temptations may take some other shape. 
You know your own weak points better than I do. 
Only remember that you can do nothing in your 
own strength. So surely as you try it, you will 
fail.” 

44 But we have the strength of God back of ours, 
and He has promised to help us,” Louis said in a 
glad tone ; 44 1 have tried it, and He did help me.” 


168 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


“ And He always will, if you ask for help,” she 
replied. u But the strength He gives us is like 
the manna of the Israelites, something that can’t 
be laid up in store. We have to ask for it, as we 
do for our daily bread, day by day.” 

“ Then what we have to do,” Louis said, sum- 
ming up, “is to ‘Stand up for Jesus,’ as the hymn 
says, and ask for God’s help to do it. We’ll try, 
Miss Cecil. Come, Harry ; we shall have to run, or 
we shall be late, and that will be a bad beginning.” 

They had heard the school bell ringing, but had 
lingered to the last possible moment. But a sharp 
run brought them to the school-house just in time, 
and they took their seats, hot and breathless. 

It proved to be rather a hard day for both of 
them. They found it difficult to fix their thoughts 
on their studies : before they were aware, they 
would wander off to other things, and Miss Raw- 
son wondered what could have happened to two 
of her best scholars, to make them so unlike them- 
selves. Louis failed in his arithmetic lesson, for 
the first time that term, much to his annoyance, 
and Harry was reprimanded for inattention. 

When Louis returned to his seat, he threw his 
arithmetic impatiently down on his desk, in mani- 
fest ill humor. But, glancing at him a little later, 
Harry saw him intent upon his slate, and working 
as busily as if he had not a thought beyond the 
figures upon it. He wondered at it, and when 
they met at recess, he said : — 


CECIL’S KNIGHT . 


169 


“ I don’t see how you can study to-day, Louis ; 
I’m sure I can’t. My mind is full of other things.” 

“I thought I couldn’t at first,” said Louis. 
“ Then I remembered Miss Cecil’s warning us that 
we couldn’t tell what shape temptation would take, 
and I wondered whether this might not be a temp- 
tation, for you know it does seem to be my plain 
duty just now to study, so I set myself about it. 
It seemed a queer thing to do to ask Jesus to help 
me not to think of Him, but to put my mind on 
that lesson. But that is what I did, and He did 
help me.” 

“ I didn’t think of it in that way,” Harry said ; 
“ but I guess you were right, and I mean to study 
after recess.” 

“ Well, I don’t see why we shouldn’t carry our 
religion into school duties as well as into any 
others; do you?” Louis said. “I am sure it 
ought to make us better scholars, instead of worse 
ones, and I think that demerit mark I got this 
morning was a poor way to begin.” 

Mrs. Thorne went about her work that day with 
sunshine in her heart, and a song upon her lips. 

She had had trouble enough in her life, but 
Louis had never given her any cause for anxiety 
on his account. Frank and merry, obedient and 
helpful, he had been a great comfort to her in all 
her trouble. The very sight of his blithe face, or 
the sound of his cheery voice, had often seemed 
to lift the weight from her heart. As long as she 


170 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


could keep him with her, she could not count her- 
self wholly unhappy. And now, the only thing 
that seemed, to her partial eyes, to be lacking in 
him, Avas supplied. 

Early as it was, before going to his work that 
morning, he had wakened her with a kiss, and 
knelt by the side of her bed to tell her that he had 
asked her Saviour to be his, and he wanted her to 
pray for him, that he might be a faithful servant 
to Him. 

Freda had awakened at the sound of their 
voices, and rubbed her sleepy eyes, while she won- 
dered why her mother was crying, and yet saying 
that she was so glad. 

44 When I’m glad,” she remarked, 44 1 don’t cry ! ” 

Louis went to his work, and his mother dried 
her eyes, and tried to explain to Freda; but the 
only result was that the child looked at her 
brother, the next time she saw him, with mingled 
curiosity and awe, as if she expected to see some 
great change in him, and was much relieved when 
she found him just as ready to talk • and laugh 
with her as he was before. 

But the mother had a song in her heart all day 
long. She felt the gladness which only a mother 
can feel, when she sees her children coming to 
Christ, and the prayer which she had daily offered 
for him through so many years was changed to 
thanksgiving. 

44 We must not forget that this is the night for 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


171 


the meeting, Harry,” Louis said, as they walked 
home from school, a day or two later. 

“ Can’t forget a thing I never knew,” Harry re- 
turned. “ What meeting do you mean ? ” 

44 The church prayer-meeting, of course,” said 
Louis. 44 What did you think I meant? ” 

44 1 didn’t know,” said Harry. 44 That’s the reason I 
asked. How came you to know anything about it?” 

44 Why, it is the usual church prayer-meeting,” 
Louis replied. 44 It comes every week, Thursday 
night. Besides, where are your ears ? Didn’t 
you hear Mr. Russell give notice of it Sunday? 
He gives it every week, as regularly as he preaches 
his sermon.” 

44 Then I suppose I have heard it,” said Harry. 
44 But it must have been with the ears of my head, 
and not of my mind, for it strikes me now as some- 
thing new. I never pay much attention to the 
notices, for they don’t often concern me.” 

44 This one concerns us,” Louis rejoined ; 44 for I 
am going to the meeting to-night, and I suppose 
you are.” 

44 Why,” said Harry, 44 do boys go there ? ” 

44 1 don’t know ; I never thought to ask,” Louis 
answered ; 44 but there will be two there to-night, if 
you and I go. We can keep each other in coun- 
tenance. We are going to try to ‘begin right,’ 
you know, and Christians go to this meeting. It’s 
on purpose for them, and I suppose they go to 
compare notes, and help each other along. I have 


172 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


often heard my mother say that she was sorry she 
couldn’t go. So if it is for Christians, we want to 
be there now, if we are going to stand by the flag.” 

“ All right, then,” said Harry. 

Louis evidently supposed that all Christians 
went to their church prayer-meeting as a matter 
of course. It was not an unreasonable idea, but 
he grew wiser in time. 

When the two boys presented themselves at 
the vestry of the West Church that night, their 
entrance caused quite a sensation. Boys at that 
meeting were a strange sight, and at the sound 
of their quick footsteps on the uncarpeted aisle, 
so unlike the slow, heavy tread that was usually 
heard there, every one turned to see who was 
coming in. 

“ Why, it’s Louis Thorne and Harry Lawrence ! 
What’s going to happen next?” one good woman 
whispered, almost aloud, to her neighbor. “ What 
freak do you suppose sent them here ? ” 

“ I don’t know,” said her friend. “I only hope 
they will behave themselves ! ” 

It appeared as if they intended to do that, for 
they sat down quietly, quite unconscious of the 
stir they had made. 

Though Mr. Russell was already in his desk, 
turning the leaves of his hymn-book, they thought 
they must have mistaken the hour, and had come 
too early, for there were scarcely twenty in the 
room, which would have seated two hundred, and 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


173 


even these few were not sitting together, but were 
scattered about, here and there, in the great 
empty room, seeming to occupy, by preference, 
the seats near the door. 

Mr. Russell looked lonely, sitting by himself at 
the other end of the room, and perhaps he felt so, 
for before beginning the services, he requested 
all present to come up and take seats near the 
desk. But from the manner in which the request 
was received, it was evidently not the first time it 
had been made, and only a few complied with it. 

Among them were our two boys, who were 
welcomed by a smile from Miss Cecil across the 
aisle, and a friendly nod from Dr. Gardiner, be- 
side whom they found themselves seated, and 
both a nod and a smile from Mr. Russell, whose 
face lighted up when he saw them. 

The meeting went on as meetings under such 
circumstances generally do. Mr. Russell did his 
best to give it interest, but the rows of vacant 
seats before him seemed to chill his warmth, be- 
fore it could reach the distant auditors. It is pos- 
sible that he found it easier to talk, when he was 
lying on his hack, on the battle-field. 

The boys enjoyed Dr. Gardiner’s brief and 
pointed remarks, and the singing, in which they 
joined heartily, seemed to be the redeeming fea- 
ture of the evening. It could not fail to be good, 
with two such voices as Miss Huntington’s and 
Pr. Gardiner’s leading it, and covering all defects 


174 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


But Louis and Harry, with their hearts full of 
their new-found love, looked at each other with 
dismay, as the time passed on, and long exhorta- 
tions, in which neither the speaker nor any one 
else seemed much interested, were followed by 
equally long formal prayers. It had a chilling 
effect upon them. Could it be possible, they 
thought, that the time would ever come when they 
would speak as coldly and indifferently of religious 
things, as some of these good brethren did, who 
even began their remarks by avowing that they 
had nothing in particular to say, and only spoke 
to fill up the time, rather than to see it wasted ! 

There came another pause ; there seemed to be 
always an interval of silence after each speaker 
finished, as if to give time for reflection upon 
what had been said. 

This was a longer pause than usual, and Louis 
saw Miss Huntington looking over at him with a 
meaning in her glance, which he read perhaps the 
sooner that it seconded his own impulse. In the 
next instant he was on his feet, telling of the dear 
Saviour he had found, and avowing his purpose to 
serve Him. 

He had no thought of fear when he rose ; he 
was not a timid boy ; his heart was burning within 
him, and it seemed the most natural thing to do 
to tell his joy to those who had felt the same, and 
could sympathize with him. But when he actu- 
ally heard himself speaking in the hushed silence, 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


175 


and saw the listening faces turned toward him, a 
kind of stage fright seized him. 

His voice trembled and faltered, and he could 
hardly finish his sentence. He was so confused 
that he would have stammered on, hardly knowing 
what he was saying; but scarcely was the last 
word of the broken sentence uttered, when Dr. 
Gardiner’s hand drew him down to his seat again, 
and Miss Huntington’s voice began Doddridge’s 
hymn : — 

“ Oh, happy day, that fixed my choice 
On Thee, my Saviour, and my God ! 

Well may this glowing heart rejoice, 

And tell its raptures all abroad.” 

While they were singing, Louis had time to 
recover from his confusion, and to feel glad that, 
though he had not been able to say much, he had 
yet taken a public stand for Christ. 

Then one of the same good brothers, whom he 
had mentally been accusing of coldness, rose and 
offered a most fervent prayer of thanksgiving, 
which seemed to go straight up to the throne of 
God. It went to Louis’ heart, and he registered 
a vow, then and there, that he would never again 
be so hasty in harsh judgment of any one. 

The boys found that there was warmth enough 
of Christian feeling in these people whom they 
tad thought so cold-hearted, only it smouldered 
unseen, like a fire covered up with ashes. After 
the meeting was dismissed, one after another 


176 


CECIL’S KNIGHT . 


came up to welcome them as brothers, to give a 
warm grasp of the hand, and to bring their con- 
gratulations and good wishes. Mr. Russell was 
one of the first to greet them, and was evidently 
very much moved. 

“ Oh, boys ! ” he said, while his eyes filled with 
tears. “If you could only get my Willie to join 
you!” 

“ I wish he would,” Louis answered. “ Perhaps 
Miss Cecil will persuade him,” he said, looking at 
her. 

“Try yourself, Louis,” Miss Cecil said. “A 
boy can sometimes influence his mates, when older 
friends would utterly fail. There’s a kind of free- 
masonry of youth among you.” 

“ I’ll do my best,” Louis said modestly. “ I can 
pray for him, if I can’t do anything more. But I 
have more faith in your words reaching him, than 
in anything that I could say.” 

“ I have no faith in either,” she said. “ Let us 
put our faith in God. Remember what the Scrip- 
ture says: ‘Neither is he that planteth anything, 
neither he that watereth ; but God that givetli the 
increase.’ Since we can’t tell what means He 
will bless, let us use them all.” 

“ I did wish I could find courage to do as you 
did to-night,” Harry said, as the boys went home. 

“Well, I don’t think I had much,” Louis said. 
“As you saw, I hadn’t enough to last through two 
minutes. I was something like Peter, when he 


CECIL’S KNIGHT . 177 

thought he could walk on the water. I know how 
he felt when he found himself going down ! ” 

“ But he didn’t go down,” said Harry. “ And 
the others didn’t even try. I know how they felt ! ” 
“ I wasn’t afraid when I got up,” Louis contin- 
ued. “I did not think of anything except that 
I wanted to tell them that we had found their 
Saviour ; but when I found myself actually speak- 
ing, my heart jumped into my mouth. I’m sure 
I don’t know what I should have done, if Dr. 
Gardiner had not given me a gentle hint that it 
was possible to come to an end right there, and 
sit down. I confess that I did feel terribly mor- 
tified for a little while ; but after all, I wasn’t trying 
to make a speech, and I don’t care now. I feel 
as if Jesus knew just how it was, and saw that 
I was really trying to speak for Him. I can 
almost hear Him say, 4 Never mind ; try again ! ’ 
And that’s what I mean to do. I feel pretty sure 
that 1 shall not be so frightened next time.” 

44 Of course you won’t,” Harry said. 44 Perhaps 
that was one of the things Miss Cecil meant when 
she said we should need practice to know how to 
use our weapons. I wish I had tried when you 
did, but it did seem impossible. I know I couldn’t 
have said three words. But I really don’t think 
I was trying to hide the flag ; do you ? ” 

44 Not at all,” Louis answered promptly. 44 That 
isn’t the kind of place, I imagine, where one would 
be tempted to do that. Everybody was in sym- 


178 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


pathy with us there. Only think how kind they 
were after meeting, all coming to shake hands 
with us, and say how glad they were for us ! It 
would have taken a good deal more courage to 
stand up in such a meeting, and say we were not 
Christians, and never meant to be.” 

“ That’s true enough,” said Harry. 

“ But I think the real time when the temptation 
to hide the flag will come, will be when we are 
with people who don’t care anything about relig 
ion. Then we shall have to be on our guard. As 
for your silence to-night, I dare say half of what 
kept you still, was seeing how frightened I got ; so 
that was partly my fault. But we both will do 
better next week, because, if we are going to 
‘Stand up for Jesus,’ we must ‘begin right,’ as 
Miss Cecil said.” 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


179 


CHAPTER IX. 

“ The mistakes of my life have been many, 

The sins of my heart have been more ; 

And I scarce can see for weeping, 

But I'll knock at the open door.” 

— Urania Locke Bailey. 

r PHE report of the prayer-meeting rapidly 
spread among the schoolboys, and when Louis 
and Harry came to school the next morning, they 
looked at them in much the same way as Freda 
did ; only, seeing no visible change in them, they 
soon decided that there was no change. What 
they expected to see, it would be difficult to say. 

One or two of the better informed among them, 
who knew what the change was supposed to be, 
pursued their investigations a little further ; and 
though that was the last thing they intended, it 
gave the two friends just the opportunity they 
wanted to “ show their colors.” 

“I hear you spoke in the church meeting last 
night, Louis,” Charlie Ray said, taking a moment 
when the other boys chanced to be busy elsewhere. 
“ That so ? ” 

“ I tried to,” Louis said ; “ I didn’t succeed very 
well, as I dare say you know, but still I did manage 


180 


CECILS KNIGHT . 


to get out the main thing that I wanted to say ; and 
I hope I shall do better next time.” 

Charlie was a little taken back by Louis’ readi- 
ness to talk of the attempt at speaking, of which 
he had fancied he would be a little ashamed, and 
by the quiet assumption that his inquiry was dic- 
tated by a friendly interest. He tried again. 

“ Oh, yes ; you’ll probably get to be a great 
orator before we know it ! You’re both going to 
join the church for the next thing, I suppose.” 

“ Yes ; we hope to,” Harry said. “ Not just at 
present, but before very long.” 

“Then, I dare say you think you are a great 
deal better than the rest of us, now ? ” Charlie 
continued. 

“Not a bit of it,” said Louis. “ That’s a mis- 
take of yours. Do you think I have any less 
common sense than I had before, so that I could 
take up that ridiculous notion ? ” 

“I don’t know about its being ridiculous,” 
Charlie said. “ Christians are generally supposed 
to be better than other people. I thought you had 
changed yourself into Miss Cecil’s ideal knight 
at one jump. But,” seeing him laugh, “perhaps 
you are not much of a Christian, after all ? ” 

“ Just as much of one as I can be,” Louis said 
promptly. “ I hope to be a better one as I go on. 
I’ve only just begun the Christian life yet, you 
know; but I mean Christ shall have all there is 
of me to have. Harry will tell you the same.” 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


181 


“Just exactly,” Harry said, with emphasis. 

“ And as for being better than other people,” 
Louis went on, “ I’ve got far enough to know that 
Christians are sinners still, — one doesn’t have to 
get far to find that out, — only they are forgiven 
sinners, and that makes a wonderful difference. 
I wish you would try it for yourself, Charlie ! I 
can’t tell you how happy it makes me. Won’t 
you try to begin the Christian life with us ? ” 

Charlie was so surprised at finding all his sneer- 
ing remarks taken literally, and so annoyed by 
Louis’ personal appeal, which he certainly did 
not expect, considering the turn he had given to 
the conversation, that he was not prepared with 
a reply. He muttered something that sounded 
like, “I wish you wouldn’t bother me,” and re- 
treated to the other end of the playground. 

A message from Miss Rawson called Harry 
away just then, and Louis remained alone, looking 
after Charlie. He felt both surprised and disap- 
pointed, and began to consider what he could have 
said to ruffle Charlie’s usually sweet temper. It 
never occurred to him to put himself in Charlie’s 
place, or to think how Louis Thorne would have 
received such an appeal a month ago. A pupil in 
the school of Experience learns slowly. 

While Louis was thinking of it, Willie Russell 
came up. 

“The boys all seem afraid of you to-day,” he 
said. “ I hear that you are running an opposition 
line against my father.” 


182 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


“Why, no, indeed,” said Louis. “You know 
better. I’m going along with him ; and I should 
be glad to push behind his coach, or get a stone 
out of his road ! ” 

“I should like to have heard you preaching 
away in that meeting, last night ! ” Willie said, 
disregarding the answer. 

“I didn’t know it was preaching,” Louis re- 
joined. “If it was, it had one good thing about 
it. It was shorter than any sermon you ever 
heard.” 

“ Oh, I know what you said, every word of it,” 
Willie said. “ I had a full account of it, from two 
or three people, with a moral thrown in, free 
gratis. Everybody in town knows of it by this 
time, I should say.” 

“I’ve no objection,” Louis replied. “I didn’t 
want it to be a secret, or suppose it was going to 
be one. You would say, yourself, that a fellow 
who wouldn’t show his colors was good for noth- 
ing. When you are a Christian, you will want 
people to know it.” 

A kind of inarticulate sound answered this last 
statement. 

“ Come, suppose you go to meeting with us next 
week,” Louis proposed. 

“Suppose I don’t do any such thing,” Willie 
returned. “ I get quite enough of the real article, 
Sundays.” 

“Well, then,” Louis said, “you know I don’t 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


183 


want to preach to you, which is lucky for both of 
us; for you wouldn’t like it, and I don’t know 
how, and shouldn’t care to begin practising on a 
minister’s son ! But will you let me talk to you 
a minute ? ” 

“Depends on what you say,” Willie replied. 
“ I believe people generally talk without asking if 
they may, unless they have something very disa- 
greeable to say. If you have, I give you fair 
notice that I’m not in the mood to hear it.” 

♦ 

So Louis took another lesson from Experience. 
He saw his blunder, and recorded a mental deter- 
mination never to ask leave to talk about religion 
again. 

“I’ll just go ahead,” he said to himself, “and 
talk about it exactly as I would about anything 
else, the next chance I have, without being so 
formal as to ask leave. It is only telling a fellow 
to be on his guard and lock the door.” 

Aloud, he said, “ This ought not to be disagree- 
able. I was only going to say just what you have 
heard Miss Cecil say, that I wish you were a 
Christian. I suppose you wish it yourself.” 

“Much obliged to you,” Willie said indifferently. 
“ But I think you must have queer ideas of what 
is disagreeable ! Can’t you find something else 
now to talk about, just for a change ? ” 

“Not just now,” Louis said; “because I want 
you to do this so much. You know you ought to. 
You’ll think about it, at any rate, won’t you, 
Willie?” 


184 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


“Not if I can help it,” Willie said, with a shrug 
of his shoulders. “ There are plenty of pleasanter 
things about. And if you’ll take a friend’s advice, 
you won’t go preaching to every fellow you can 
get hold of, or we shall all he dodging you as 
if you were a mad dog, before the week is out ! 
Don’t you mean ever to think of anything else ? 
Do Christians ever do such a thing as to play ball, 
or is it wicked ? Because we mean to have a game 
before the bell rings. You’ll play, won’t you? ” 

“Yes,” Louis said, hesitating a little. 

“ That’s a good fellow ! ” Willie said. 

He rushed off to collect the other players, and 
Louis stood waiting. 

He was very much disappointed. He had been 
so certain that the boys would respond to the 
first appeal ; and now two of them, the very two 
of whom he felt most sure, had refused to listen. 
It was so unexpected that he did not know what 
to think, and his faith began to waver. 

He felt very little inclination for the game he 
had promised to play, though he was generally the 
first to propose playing; but a vague idea was 
floating in his mind, brought there by Willie’s last 
words, that he ought to show him that a Christian 
could enjoy fun as much as any one else, and that 
trying to follow Christ by no means took all the 
pleasure out of life. 

He looked round for Harry, but he was not 
there. Miss Rawson had sent him on an errand. 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


185 


A large field adjoining the school grounds had 
been kindly lent by the owner as a ball ground, 
and the boys were gathering there. 

For the first time in his life Louis began playing 
almost unwillingly, and as a duty. But that did 
not last long. He always threw himself heartily 
into what he was doing, and before many minutes 
had passed he was absorbed in the interest of the 
game, and was running and shouting and cheer- 
ing as eagerly as any of the others. It was good 
to see how thoroughly he entered into the spirit of 
the thing. He was one of the best players on the 
ground, and was proud of his skill, but he seemed 
bent on outdoing himself to-day. 

He had just made a brilliant run, which brought 
the applause even of his opponents; “doing the 
impossible,” Willie Russell called it; when sud- 
denly — he could never remember exactly how 
it happened — a serious misunderstanding arose 
among the players, and cries of unfair play were 
heard, followed by a hot dispute. The umpire 
tried to satisfy both sides, and satisfied neither. 
The advantage Louis had gained with such effort 
was in danger of being lost, and lost, as it seemed 
to him, very unfairly. 

As he had once confessed to Harry, he “ liked 
to have his own way,” and he had a quick temper. 
It blazed up now. Forgetting everything else, he 
threw himself into the fray. 

There was a tumult of furious accusations and 


186 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


angry contradictions, and from some of the rougher 
boys shocking oaths were heard. All of them were 
heated and excited with the game, and soon words 
failed to express their feelings forcibly enough. 

Louis himself, in a transport of rage, gave the 
first blow. It was like touching a match to pow- 
der. The blow was instantly returned with inter- 
est, and it was hardly a minute before both sides 
were engaged in a savage fight. 

The noise attracted the attention of those remain- 
ing in the playground. There was a general rush to 
the fence, where they could see to the best advan- 
tage ; but one of the younger scholars ran in breath- 
less haste to Miss Rawson, and told her what was 
going on. 

She went to a window overlooking the ball 
ground, gave one glance at the swarm of angry 
boys, who were in the middle of their contest, and 
seemed to her to be proceeding on the Kilkenny 
Irishman’s rule for a fight, “ When you see a head, 
hit it ! It’s somebody’s ! ” and rang her bell im- 
peratively. 

The habit of obedience to its summons prevailed. 
Slowly and reluctantly .the combatants released 
each other, and returned to the schoolroom, mut- 
tering threats of future vengeance by the way. 
Miss Rawson met them with a sharp rebuke, and 
forbade any more use of the ball ground for a 
week, “ by which time I hope you will be able to 
play like gentlemen, and not like rowdies,” she 
finished, severely. 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


187 


Louis was as angry and as excited as any of 
them. There would be no opportunity of express- 
ing his feelings in words until school should be dis- 
missed, but he thought of the various cutting 
things he would say then ; and he scowled fiercely 
at Sam Johnson, who was the leading spirit of the 
other side ; and having a chance, in passing his desk 
on his way to a recitation, to administer a sly kick 
to him, he did it with a will, and only laughed at 
the clenched fist which, unseen by Miss Rawson, 
was shaken threateningly at him. 

Harry looked at him in the utmost surprise, but 
Louis returned only a defiant glance. If any one 
had reproved him then, he would have said indig- 
nantly, “ I do well to be angry.” 

But a little thing brought him to his senses. He 
happened to look up just in time to see Willie 
Russell look significantly at him, and then ex- 
change a meaning smile with Charlie Ray. Both 
look and smile said as plainly as words, “ This is 
the Christian, who goes to prayer-meetings and 
lectures us ! ” 

A flood of crimson rushed over Louis’ face, as 
he saw and interpreted their silent comment, and 
his eyes fell. All at once he came to a realizing 
sense of what he had done. His head dropped on 
his desk ; it seemed to him that he could never 
lift it again ; and his heart dropped lower still. 

It did not mend the matter that Willie and 
Charlie had been among the foremost in the fray 


188 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


and had cheered him on. They had made no pro- 
fession of meaning to do better, and he had. They 
had a right to expect different things from him. 
He did not even think twice of their share in the 
quarrel, but his own overwhelmed him. 

Such a little while ago he had said that he only 
wanted to know what the Lord wished him to do, 
and he would do it ! Such a little while ago he 
had vowed to devote his life to His service ! Was 
this the way he kept his word? 

And he might have known better, too. Had 
not Miss Cecil told him that temptation would be 
sure to come in a shape that he did not expect ? 
She had given him fair warning. Had he not 
himself wisely told Harry that the danger was 
greater in other places than in a prayer-meeting? 
He had been so sure that he should be on his 
guard against everything that looked at all suspi- 
cious ; and now the enemy had taken him una- 
wares, and defeated him at the first attack, without 
his striking a blow in his own defence, or even 
recognizing that the foe was near, until he was 
bound hand and foot. He began to have a much 
greater respect for Satan’s abilities than he had 
ever had before. 

“If it is going to be like this, I shall never 
know what he is going to do, or where he will 
spring up next,” he thought dolefully. “I was 
on the watch for him when I was talking with the 
boys, but playing ball seemed an innocent thing 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


189 


enough, and I never thought of temptation taking 
that shape. But now, I never can be sure of 
myself after this. I have broken my promise to 
Jesus so soon, and I did mean to keep it. It is the 
very first time that I have been tried, too ; the first 
chance I have had to show that I meant to be a 
different boy ; and I thought of nothing but doing 
my own will, when I did believe that I wanted to 
do God’s will ! ” 

These thoughts rushed through his mind so 
rapidly that he could hardly separate them. He 
was in great trouble, but, at least, he knew where 
to go for comfort, and a most earnest prayer rose 
from his heart. The buzz of the schoolroom was 
all about him, but it seemed to him that he was 
alone with God. 

“ Oh, dear Saviour,” he said, “ I have done very 
wrong, but, indeed, I am sorry. Do forgive me. 
Don’t let it make any of the boys think that there 
is no use in trying to be a Christian. Help me to 
watch, that I may be ready the next time I am 
tempted, and, oh, don’t let me sin so against Thee 
again ! ” 

He seemed to hear the answer of the forgiving 
Saviour, and presently he could lift his head again 
•from his desk. 

But after the tempest and the calm, he did not 
find it easy to fix his thoughts upon his books, and 
he had a great longing to tell the whole to Miss 
Cecil. He went to Miss Rawson and asked to be 


190 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


excused from school for the rest of the forenoon. 
He gave no reason for his request, but she had 
seen his troubled face, and could guess at the 
reason. At any rate, she trusted him; and the 
next moment he was out of doors, and on his way 
to Miss Cecil. 

He found her alone, as he had hoped, and he 
poured out the whole story to her, with all his 
repentance and self-reproach. He softened noth- 
ing in the history of his wrong-doing. Indeed^ it 
seemed worse to him when he came to put the 
account in audible speech for another’s ears, than 
it had done when he was going over it in his own 
mind, and lie could not try to excuse what he felt 
was inexcusable. 

Miss Cecil listened very gravely. 

“Oh, Louis, I am very sorry ! ” she said. 

“ So am I,” he said most sincerely ; “ but what 
can I do now ? ” 

“ The first thing must be to ask God’s forgive- 
ness,” she suggested. 

“ Why, of course,” he said. “ It was the first 
thing I thought of when I came to myself. How 
could I help it? But how He could forgive such 
— so soon after I had promised — ” and there he 
stopped. 

“Did you think He would not?” she asked, 
wondering if he had lost his trust in God’s forgiv- 
ing love. 

“ No, indeed ; I am sure He has forgiven me,” 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


191 


Louis said ; 44 but I can’t forgive myself, and oh, 
Miss Cecil, I feel so ashamed ! 1 wanted to hide 

my face whenever I saw any one, when I was 
coming here. Willie Russell said that everybody 
in town knew what I said last night, and I was glad 
then to think they did. I liked to have it known 
that I was on the Lord’s side. It seemed to be a 
badge of honor. But I feel now as if I had denied 
Him. I can’t look anybody in the face, for they 
must all know it by night. To be able to hold 
out only one day, when you were all so kind to 
me last night, and to fail at the very first trial, — 
oh, I am ashamed ! ” 

44 My dear Louis,” Miss Cecil said, 44 didn’t you 
expect the Christian life to be a warfare ? Did 
you suppose you had won the victory once for 
all ? This is what it means, to fight against just 
such things as your temper, and to be defeated 
whenever we neglect to ask the Strong One for 
strength. The temptation came to you suddenly, 
but your prayer for help could have gone as 
quickly. As to the rest of your trouble, all of us 
have been through an experience enough like 
yours to enable us to sympathize with you.” 

Louis looked as if the last statement was a little 
too much to be credited. 

44 At any rate,” he said, in the tone of one taking 
a resolution, 44 1 won’t play ball any more ! I 
might do just the same thing again. It is only 
running into danger.” 


192 


CECIL’S KNIGHT . 


“ Not at all.” Miss Cecil answered, repressing a 
smile. “That would be refusing to face danger, 
like a coward. I hope you will play many a good 
game, and show that you can play as a Christian 
should. You are not told to run out of the world; 
only to be ‘in it, but not of it.’ Now, don’t spend 
any more time in mourning over your fall, but just 
take it as a warning to be ready for the next 
battle. 4 Out of the nettle of danger, you may 
pluck the flower of safety.’ After this you will 
be more likely to be on the watch for Satan’s next 
attack, and will not be caught so easily.” 

44 Ah, if he would only fight fair ! ” Louis said, 
with a look more like his own. 44 If he would only 
give notice when he was going to begin, and not 
sneak in when nobody is thinking of him, and in 
some shape that nobody could suspect, and have a 
fellow down before he knows what is happening 
to him ! ” 

Miss Cecil laughed heartily. 

44 In fact,” she said, 44 if he would step up to you 
frankly, and say, 4 If you please, I am Satan, and 
I would be very glad to have you do so and so,’ 
you think you would be able to refuse ? ” 

Louis nodded. 

44 I’ve no doubt that you would,” she said. 
44 Neither has he, and so you may be very sure 
that you will never find him so accommodating as 
to introduce himself under his true name. He is 
too shrewd for that, and always goes under an 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


193 


alias. No one would listen to him if he came in 
his own shape ; but when he wears the dress of an 
angel of light, he can deceive the very elect, we 
are told.” 

“I should suppose he ought to know how, by 
this time,” Louis said, “if experience would teach 
him.” 

“And he does,” said Miss Cecil, “as many a 
repentant Christian can witness. This is no tour- 
nament, Louis. It is real war. In the lists, a 
knight cares chiefly for displaying his grace and 
skill; he fights strictly according to rules; he is 
careful to take no undue or unchivalric advan- 
tage of his opponent. But when the real battle 
comes, it is a matter of life or death. He thinks no 
longer of grace, or of the rules of carpet combat; 
he takes every advantage he can get: you must 
remember that, like him, you are fighting for life, 
and you have a most unscrupulous foe. You can- 
not be too much on your guard. I hope this defeat 
of to-day will be your 4 Bull Run,’ and teach you, 
in your fight, the lesson that battle taught our peo- 
ple in theirs. You may be thankful for it yet. 
Perhaps it was allowed to show you your own 
weakness.” 

“ But even then, though that might help me, it 
won’t cure the mischief I have done,” Louis said, 
going back to his first trouble. “If I had any 
chance of winning any of the boys to Christ, I 
have lost it, and all by my own fault. They know 


194 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


what I did, and they would laugh at me if I 
should speak of religion again. They must think 
I don’t know anything about it ; and the worst of 
it is, that I’ve given them the right to think so.” 

If Louis could have read the thoughts of the 
boys at that moment, he might have been some- 
what comforted. Both Charlie and Willie were 
very well aware that he had seen the significant 
glance they interchanged, and had read its mean- 
ing, and they were quite willing that he should 
know what they thought. But they had also 
noticed the sudden change which passed over his 
face, and saw his head go down upon his desk, and 
stay there, and they interpreted his feelings on the 
whole very accurately. 

“ He took it pretty hard,” Willie said, when they 
talked it over after school. “ He has got a temper 
of his own, we all know, and I dare say it got the 
upper hand of him before he knew it. There wasn’t 
much time to meditate, before we were all in the 
scrimmage. He didn’t cool off enough to think of 
it, till he caught us looking at each other. I sup- 
pose he was repenting when his head went down 
that way. Who ever saw him do such a thing 
before ? Shows he is changed by something, doesn’t 
it?” 

Charlie nodded an assent. 

“He’s got the real thing, I believe,” he said, 
“ and I’m glad of it, only I don’t fancy having him 
exhorting me. I’m glad I can show a little spirit, 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


195 


without having to put on sackcloth and ashes for it 
afterwards. And I don’t care if I was in a rage. 
Anybody would be. I say we served those fellows 
just right. It was good to see the way Louis walked 
into them. I only wish I could have hit harder ! 
But I did my best, and that’s all anybody can do.” 

Louis knew nothing of their judgment of him, 
and thought only of the judgment he deserved. 

Miss Cecil could not say that his young critics 
would look at his fault as forgivingly as those 
Christians would who knew how easy it was to 
slip, or deny that he might find it brought up 
against him on occasion. He must take that as 
a part of his punishment, she said, and bear it 
patiently ; but she comforted him, and encouraged 
him to hope that good might grow out of the evil, 
and that the war need not be a failure because the 
first battle was lost. 

He left her, feeling much less confidence in him- 
self than he did in the morning, but he was by no 
means so completely discouraged as he was when 
he went to her. 

Nevertheless, it was a very sober face and a 
heavy heart that he carried back to school in the 
afternoon. The duty before him was not a pleas- 
ant one, and he dreaded it exceedingly, though he 
was determined to do it. 

Sam Johnson met his approach with a scowl. 
He received his apologies for his anger, and for 
the kick he had given him, with no little surprise, 


196 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


but very ungraciously, and he made it plain that 
he would have much preferred to make payment 
in kind, but he said at last, sulkily : — 

“Well, I suppose a fellow can’t do any more 
than to say he is sorry ; but you had better take 
care not to do that thing again, for you won’t get 
off so easy, next time, I can tell you ! ” 

“I mean to take care,” Louis said, controlling 
himself with difficulty, Sam’s words and manner 
were so provoking ; “ I had no business to do it.” 

Sam responded with a kind of grunt, and a mut- 
tered, “ You told the truth that time, anyway ! ” 
Then Louis went in search of Charlie Ray and 
Willie Russell, who seemed bent on avoiding him. 
He had great difficulty in getting a chance to 
speak to them, they kept themselves so busy with 
the other boys ; and when by perseverance he did 
succeed, they would not hear him through. Per- 
haps they were afraid that he would close with a 
practical application, though nothing was further 
from his thoughts. He was too thoroughly con- 
vinced that no words of his could do any good, 
until the morning’s work was forgotten or atoned 
for. 

“There! there!” Willie interrupted when he 
began to say how sorry he was. “I guess you 
have eaten humble pie enough for this time. It 
isn’t my favorite dish, and I can’t imagine anybody 
relishing it very much. We knew well enough 
that you were sorry for the whole thing, as soon 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


197 


as you cooled off a little ; didn’t we, Charlie ? You 
wouldn’t have tripped if you had had a minute to 
think. Don’t worry yourself about it any more.” 

“I’m afraid you will think my religion isn’t 
worth very much,” Louis ventured to say, with 
humility ; “but it wasn’t the fault of the religion. 
It was all my fault for forgetting it, and I’m very 
sorry for it.” 

“Well, yours is worth as much as anybody’s, I 
guess,” Charlie returned, with a wish to comfort 
him, he looked so troubled. “ None of the Chris- 
tians that I happen to know are perfect, but I 
guess they are Christians just the same. You 
can’t expect to change into a saint all at once! 
I don’t say it was right for you; but don’t fret 
over it any more, old fellow ; everybody will forget 
it by to-morrow.” 

Louis had not such confidence in the poor 
memories of his companions. He could only hope 
that they would be as charitable as Charlie and 
Willie were, and promise himself that he would 
not forget what had happened, nor the lesson he 
hoped he had learned from it. 

He took Miss Cecil’s advice, and did not give 
up his favorite game, as his first impulse had 
prompted. Willie watched him curiously at first ; 
but he soon saw that the danger of another out- 
break was small. 

Louis played as well and as eagerly as ever, but 
it was easy to see that he set a double guard upon 


198 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


his temper when he was playing, and that he bit off 
many an angry word before it had fairly passed 
his lips. His daily prayer was, “ Lord, help me to 
take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my 
tongue.” 

There was not a boy in school who did not 
notice the change in him, as the days went on ; and 
the steady effort he made to control his temper, 
which none of them failed to see, had perhaps 
quite as much effect upon them, as the personal 
appeals, which he no longer dared to make, would 
have had. 

“ I can’t see why you should let that slip silence 
you in this way,” Harry said one day. “ Did you 
expect to persuade the boys on the ground of the 
good example you were showing them ? ” 

“Why, no indeed,” Louis said. “You know I 
couldn’t. But if I should speak to them now, 
they would have a right to say, 4 Physician, heal 
thyself,’ and what could I say ? I feel as if I must 
prove to them that Christ does help me to conquer 
this besetting sin of mine, before I dare ask them 
to let Him help them.” 

“ That’s making the Master’s errand wait until 
you get yourself into satisfactory shape,” said 
Harry. 44 It can’t be right ; I believe it is another 
of those temptations of Satan. The thing looks 
fair enough, but I believe he is behind it ! ” 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


199 


CHAPTER X. 


“ I see not a step before me, yet I journey without a fear; 

The Past is still in God’s keeping, the Future His mercy will 
clear ; 

And what looks dark in the distance, may brighten as I draw 




near. 


HE vacation was coming, and Louis was 



pleasing himself with the prospect of in- 
creased earnings, when he could have the whole 
day for work. 

He had enjoyed his studies, and knew that his 
rank in school was good. He had begun to see 
the wisdom of his mother’s determination to give 
him as much opportunity for study as she could, 
and he had improved his time, not only because it 
was a duty, and because he was grateful to her for 
keeping him at school, but also because he liked 
to learn. Study had become pleasant for its own 
sake. 

Still, he was glad of the approaching vacation, 
because money was so much needed in their little 
household, and he could earn so little in the morn- 
ings and evenings. The rent was nearly due, and 
every cent that could be saved had to be laid aside 
for that; while the doctor’s bill for the care of 


200 


CECIL’S KNIGHT . 


Freda, the amount of which they could not even 
guess, was a terror to them. 

Neither Louis nor his mother could tell how 
they were to manage through the winter ; hut Mrs. 
Thorne refused to worry about it beforehand, and 
said that when the time came, she was sure some 
way would be provided for them ; and Louis tried 
to share her faith. 

It may not be my way, 

It may not be thy way ; 

But yet in his own way 
The Lord will provide. 

And a way was provided; but like many of 
God’s ways, it was not the one that they would 
have chosen, and they did not recognize it as His 
choice for them, or take it until they had ex- 
hausted every means of finding some other. Many 
a blessing comes in disguise, and they mistook 
this one for a trial. 

Louis went home one night, and found his 
mother in great perplexity. 

A little thing — the first that caught his eye — 
showed how much she was troubled; she was 
actually sitting still, with her hands lying idly in 
her lap, which was an almost unheard-of thing. 
Freda was crying, too, though it was more from 
sympathy than anything else ; for she was happy 
in the firm belief that her mother and Louis could 
find a way out of every trouble, and by some 
means set right everything that might go wrong. 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


201 


“ What’s the matter, mother ? ” Louis said has- 
tily, as soon as he saw her face. “ Has anything 
happened ? ” 

“Yes, indeed, and something that we never 
thought of,” she said. “Mr. Johnson came here 
an hour ago to get the rent. I gave him what 
we had towards it, and I told him we would bring 
him the rest just as soon as we could get it.” 

“Well, so we will,” said Louis. “That ought 
to satisfy him. I suppose he gives us credit for 
being honest, if we are poor, and knows he will 
get his pay in time. It won’t be very long either.” 

“ Oh, he was very kind about it,” Mrs. Thorne 
said. “ He told me to take my own time for pay- 
ing the rest, and to let it be until I could pay it 
easily. He said he had heard about the stopping 
of the straw work, and knew we must find it hard 
to get along, and he was in no hurry for his 
money.” 

“Well, I’m sure that was kind of him,” said 
Louis, looking puzzled. “ What more could he 
say, or what more could you want? Of course 
we expected him to call for the rent, and we knew 
we hadn’t got quite all of it ready for him, so that 
was nothing new. And since he was so kind 
about it, I don’t see why you should be looking so 
sad, as if something dreadful had happened, or 
why Freda, there, was crying like a watering-pot, 
when I came in.” 

“Because that isn’t all,” his mother answered. 


202 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


“ You haven’t heard the worst of it. Mr. Johnson 
says he has sold the house, and the new owner 
wants to take possession of it in a month, at far- 
thest, and would be glad to have it as much 
sooner as we can manage to leave it.” 

“ Sold our house ! ” Louis repeated, in dismay. 
“Could he do that, if we paid all the rent?” he 
asked, catching at the first straw. 

“Why, yes, child, of course he could,” his 
mother said. “ Why should that hinder him ? The 
place was already sold when he came for the rent.” 

Louis looked round the room, as if he expected 
to see the walls vanish before his eyes. Such a 
calamity seemed too great to be possible. He had 
never known any other home, and this little 
house, so plain and unattractive to other eyes, 
was very dear to him. He had never thought of 
leaving it. He could not imagine himself calling 
any other place home, any more than he could 
imagine other people living in those rooms, having 
their furniture there, and calling it their home, 
while he had no longer any right in it. 

The whole thing seemed impossible. And what 
was to become of them ? Where could they go ? 
His thoughts were in a whirl. 

Freda began to cry again, as she watched him. 
To see such a grave, perplexed look on his face 
was a new experience to her. The sound of her 
sobbing seemed to rouse him, and he shook him- 
self, as if he wanted to awake from a bad dream. 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


203 


“ Something has got to be done,” he said; 44 that’s 
plain. What is it going to be, mother ? Where 
can we go ? Have you thought of anything? ” 

She shook her head sadly. 

44 No,” she said presently ; 44 1 believe I have 
been feeling stunned ever since I heard it, and I 
have not been able to think of anything, or make 
any plans yet.” 

44 Oh well,” he said, trying to speak cheerfully, 
which was not a very easy thing to do, 44 there’s 
lots of time ; that seems to be the thing we are 
richest in. Lots of things may happen in a whole 
month. A good night’s sleep over it will brighten 
up our ideas. Since we are turned out of this 
house, we have got to live in some other one ; 
that’s evident ; and we can’t make nests in a tree, 
like those big birds (would you like that, Freda ?) ; 
so of course there must be a house for us some- 
where, and perhaps in the morning we shall be 
able to think where it is. 4 Somewhere ’ does 
sound like a pretty wide word to-night, but I guess 
it will narrow down a little before morning. Mean- 
time, have you had your supper?” 

44 No, I haven’t •thought of it, and I couldn’t 
eat,” his mother said. She passed her hand 
wearily over her eyes. 

44 But Freda can,” Louis rejoined ; 44 and you will 
feel better after your cup of tea. Sit still, please ; 
I’ll get it for you. I wish I could have shared my 
supper with you ; it would have put some strength 
into you.” 


204 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


He laid the little table; made toast and tea; 
and gently persuading his mother to eat and 
drink, soon had the pleasure of seeing her look a 
little more like herself, while Freda dried her 
tears, and applied herself to her supper. 

“ Who is it that has bought the house ? ” he 
asked presently. 

“ A man from Walton. No one we know,” Mrs. 
Thorne said. “ Mr. Johnson said he had a chance to 
sell the Green Farm. The house on it was burned 
down, you know, two or three years ago, and was 
never rebuilt. This man bought the farm on con- 
dition that he would sell this house with it.” 

“ And that turns us out ! ” said Louis. “ When 
I went to see that Green fire, I never thought of 
its having anything to do with us. Things do 
come round strangely ! How convenient it would 
be,” he added reflectively, “ if we were like turtles, 
and carried our houses round on our backs ! There 
would always be a roof over us then. I begin to 
have a sort of houseless, homeless, cast-away-on-a- 
desert-island sort of feeling already. What are 
you laughing at, Freda? I can tell you, it is very 
uncomfortable.” 

“ Then we had better go to bed, and try to for- 
get it for to-night,” his mother said. “We’ll 
think about it in the morning, as you said.” 

But the morning brought no light upon the 
question. They made inquiries, though with little 
hope or prospect of success ; for an old inhabitant 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


205 


of the town, like Mrs. Thorne, knew all the houses 
in the place which were rented to tenants, either 
wholly or in part. They were very few, — for nearly 
all the residents owned their homes, — but none of 
them would answer her purpose at all. She was 
completely at her wits’ end. The days seemed to 
go by faster than ever days did before, and each 
brought the time nearer when she must go out of 
the house which had been her home so long, with 
no prospect of another to enter. 

She began to wonder if they were to be reduced, 
in earnest, to Louis’ jesting scheme of living in a 
wigwam or a tent until winter came. “ He was 
certain that he could build the first,” he said, 
“ and he knew where he could borrow the second, 
and Freda might choose between them. It would 
be a very airy and healthy way of living, and with 
housework reduced to its lowest terms, as it 
would be there, there would be a good deal more 
time left for other work.” 

He was always ready now, in the little time 
that he was at home, with his cheery talk, trying 
to win a smile from his mother and sister; but 
when he was alone, his face was very grave. He 
tried to keep his faith in God’s promise of protect- 
ing care to His children, and to believe that a way 
would open for them, though they saw no sign of 
it yet ; but it was not easy to keep from doubt. 

We have no difficulty in trusting God for daily 
bread, while our table is abundantly spread three 


206 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


times a day ; but when the flour-barrel is empty, 
and the pantry shelves are bare, and the last 
penny has gone, comes the test of our faith. 

As if to prove the truth of the old sayings that 
“it never rains, but pours,” and “misfortunes 
never come alone,” another trouble came. Louis 
went one morning to carry the basket of nicely 
ironed clothes to Mr. Russell’s house. But when 
he returned, and gave his mother the price of her 
work, which was always promptly paid, he gave 
with it a less welcome message : — 

“ That is the last, mother,” he said. “ Mrs. 
Russell told me to tell you that she finds she has 
overrated her strength, and is not able to get 
along without having help in the house. So she 
has engaged a girl, and will have her washing 
done at home now. She told me to say that she 
was very much disappointed, because she liked 
this way so much, and would be glad to continue 
it if she could. So that gold mine has given 
out ! ” he ended. “ The bottom seems to be fall- 
ing out of everything all at once. What do you 
suppose we are coming to ? ” 

“ I don’t know,” his mother said sadly. “ I 
can’t tell where to turn. I do believe there will 
be a way, but I can’t see it yet. All I can do is 
to trust in God’s care of us. You know Whittier 
says : — 

“ The steps of Faith 
Fall on the seeming void, and find 
The rock beneath.” 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


207 


“ W ell,” Louis said ; “ I think I believe it — now 
and then ! But I’m afraid to put my foot down 
on the void, without feeling round after the rock 
first ! There’s one sure comfort, that we are in 
God’s hands. If we have to go to the poor-house, 
it will be because He sees that it is best. And if 
He has a way out for us, He will lead us to it.” 

For all the next week they looked in vain for 
the unknown way. The time grew very short. 
The little box, which served as the family treas- 
ury, was almost empty. 

Yet they were sparing it in every possible way. 
Louis and his mother lived upon the very plainest 
food ; indeed, they had nearly reached the oatmeal 
standard which Mrs. Thorne had once suggested 
as the last resort. The good substantial suppers 
which Mrs. Lawrence took care that Louis should 
have, were a boon to him now, for without them, 
the healthy, growing boy would often have gone to 
bed hungry. 

Freda, too, needed more nourishing food ; but 
her wants were supplied by the kindness of friends, 
who took a practical way of expressing their 
sympathy, and sent in all sorts of dainties for 
her. 

Miss Huntington’s Ulla came almost daily with 
her little covered basket, from which broth, or 
jellies, or something nice always appeared, to the 
almost equal pleasure of the two children. Freda 
grew into the way of watching for Ulla’s coming, 


208 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


and had many a merry time with her, making the 
most extraordinary guesses at the contents of the 
basket, and never guessing right, for it always held 
something new and unexpected, to tempt the 
child’s capricious appetite. 

The needs of the others would have been sup- 
plied as liberally, if they had been even suspected ; 
but with true New England pride and reticence, 
the mother and son kept their privations to them- 
selves. 

Of course it was known that they probably found 
it difficult to make the two ends meet — Louis’ 
dress alone would have told that story ; but they 
did not ask for help ; and so many of their neigh- 
bors were obliged to economize closely, and to 
deny themselves some of those comforts which 
seem almost like the necessities of life, but which 
still can be dispensed with, that no particular 
notice was taken of it, and not even Miss Hunting- 
ton’s capable Huldah guessed how narrow the mar- 
gin was that separated them from absolute need. 

She did know that they were poor, and she did 
what she could for them ; but her means, as well 
as those of her young mistress, were cramped by 
their assuming the support of Ulla, in addition to 
their other charities, so that they could not do 
much. 

Kindness and sympathy they could give, and 
they gave them freely. They were frequent vis- 
itors at the little house, and it would be hard to 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


209 


tell whether Mrs. Thorne or her children looked 
forward most eagerly to their coming. 

It is not the most needy that make the loudest 
calls for help ; and a friendly helping hand ex- 
tended to those who are still struggling to preserve 
their independence and self-respect, is often better 
than lavish charity bestowed upon those who have 
given up the struggle. 

Only a few days remained before the new 
owner of the house would expect to find it va- 
cated and ready for his use. Mrs. Thorne had 
scoured it from roof to cellar, until she could find 
nothing more to clean, and had begun to pack her 
goods for removal, though she did not know 
where they were going. 

44 But there will be a way,” she repeated, 44 and 
we will be ready to take it, when we find it. I 
think we have done everything we can, and I be- 
lieve God will do the rest.” 

“ You are like the little girl Mr. Russell told us 
of last Sunday,” Louis said. “ There was a dread- 
fully dry time, and the people met to pray for rain, 
and she carried her big umbrella to church in the 
hot sunshine, so that she might be ready for the 
shower.” 

“ Didn’t it come ? ” Mrs. Thorne said, with a 
smile, looking up from her work. 

44 Come ? Oh, yes,” returned Louis ; 44 according 
to Mr. Russell, it came in torrents, and she walked 
home rejoicing in her big umbrella, while all the 


210 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


faithless people were drenched in the rain. But 
it won’t take me long to get my umbrella ; in other 
words, to pack up my numerous possessions. That 
is one blessing of having only a little, it is so 
easily taken care of.” 

He went off to his work, and his mother turned 
again to hers. She was still bending over the little 
old trunk in which she was packing her own and 
Freda’s clothes, when Miss Cecil came to the door, 
and was greeted with a cry of joy from Freda. 
From her unfailing basket she produced a little 
cake, covered with smooth icing, on which, with a 
line of pink, was traced Freda’s name, and placed 
it before the delighted child. 

44 Oh, thank you ! Oh, look, mother ! ” she ex- 
claimed. 44 1 never saw anything so pretty. Only 
see my pink name ! ” 

44 Now you must relish that, Freda,” Miss Cecil 
said merrily, 44 because it took so many to make it. 
It is a kind of combination cake. Huldah made 
it for you, and Ulla put the icing on ; and I hap- 
pened to be going through the kitchen as she fin- 
ished, so I stopped and wrote your name on it. 
Now your part of the work is to eat it ! ” 

44 That’s the best part of all ! ” Freda cried, in 
high glee ; but Miss Cecil was not at all sure of 
it, when she saw the little girl’s delight, and she 
remembered the words of Scripture, 44 It is more 
blessed to give than to receive.” 

44 1 shall keep it till Louis comes home,” Freda 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


211 


decided, putting it carefully on the little table 
beside her bed, where she could feast her eyes 
upon it. “ I want him to see it just as it is, and 
then we can all eat it together.” 

“ Here are some eggs for you, too,” Miss Cecil 
said, taking out half a dozen large ones, three 
brown, and three white, which had filled the 
remaining space in her basket, and ranging them 
in a row on the table. “ They will do you more 
good than the cake, and I think they are quite as 
pretty. Ulla said the hens laid them on purpose 
for you.” 

“ Did she ? How did she know ? ” Freda asked 
eagerly. 

“ Because they were such fine ones, I suppose,” 
she answered. “ She thought the hens would do 
their best for a little sick girl, who cannot run 
round as they do.” 

Then she left Freda to the contemplation of her 
treasures, and turned to Mrs. Thorne. 

“I have something for you, too, to-day,” she 
said brightly, “ though I could not put it in my 
basket. It is only a bit of news.” 

Mrs. Thorne looked earnestly at her. She 
seemed to know by intuition to what the news 
referred. 

“ I am glad to find you packing up,” Miss Cecil 
continued; “for I think we have discovered a 
place for you at last. I am sorry to have you 
leave town, but except for that drawback, I think 
it will be just what you want.” 


212 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


“ Leave town ? ” Mrs. Thorne repeated, with 
great surprise. “ Where is it ? ” 

“In Westerham,” Miss Cecil said. “You see 
it isn’t so very far away, after all. If you choose, 
you can easily come back when better times come 
for us here. I suppose Craig & Harris will in- 
tend to go on again with the straw business by 
and by, when they have settled with their credit- 
ors, and then you would have work here. So you 
must not consider that you are going into perpet- 
ual banishment. But just now it does not seem 
possible to find either home or work for you here ; 
and there appears to be a good prospect of getting 
both for you there.” 

“Are there straw shops in Westerham?” Mrs. 
Thorne asked. “ I never heard of them.” 

“ No, but there is something else, which may do 
as well,” Miss Cecil said. “ It seemed so provi- 
dential that we should hear of it as we did. Dr. 
Gardiner was there yesterday, visiting an old 
friend, Mr. Howarth, who is going into business 
there. He has just opened a chair manufactory, 
and he took Dr. Gardiner in to see it. He em- 
ploys a good many women, — some in the shop, 
and some at home, — and he says they can earn 
very good wages. The work seemed so easy, and 
was so profitable, that Dr. Gardiner at once 
thought of you, and wished you could get a place 
there. At first, Mr. Howarth said he had all the 
hands he wanted ; but when Dr. Gardiner told him 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


213 


about you, and explained how much he wanted 
the place for you, he said he would strain a point, 
and would either find work, or make it, for you, 
both for his friend’s sake, and for your own. He 
seemed quite interested in you and the children, 
and said you might begin as soon as you liked.” 

“ He is very kind,” Mrs. Thorne said gratefully, 
but still looking perplexed. “ But I am afraid 
there is a difficulty in the way. I don’t know 
how to make chairs, Miss Huntington. I never 
even saw it done. Could 1 learn without too long 
delay ? What should I have to do ? ” 

“ Oh, didn’t 1 tell you ? I am so glad about it, 
that I am afraid I am not giving a very coherent 
account of it. It is only weaving the canes to 
make the seats,” Miss Cecil said encouragingly. 
“The other women have learned, and so would 
you, in a very little while. Dr. Gardiner says it 
is nothing compared to the intricacies of crochet ! 
It is only braiding the thin strips of cane, or rat- 
tan, in and out, according to a regular rule. It 
must be very easily learned, and it is light, clean, 
pleasant work. And when you have become 
accustomed to it, you can earn much better wages 
at it, I should judge, than you have earned with 
the straw. Other women earn a good living 
there, and I have no doubt that you will. Dr. 
Gardiner will tell you more about it than I can, 
for I have it only at second hand, you know. 
Don’t you think you would like it? ” she asked, a 


214 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


* 

little anxiously. “We thought it was just the 
thing for you.” 

Mrs. Thorne’s look answered her. 

“ I can’t tell you how much I like it,” she said, 
“ or how very grateful 1 am, to both Dr. Gardiner 
and Mr. Howarth, as well as to you. This is very 
plainly God’s way out, for which I have been 
looking and waiting, only it is better than any- 
thing I dared to hope for. I looked for a little 
light, but this is a whole flood of sunshine.” 

“ Dr. Gardiner felt so sure that you would like 
it,” Miss Cecil said, much pleased, “ that he went 
on to make inquiries about a home for you. Mr. 
Howarth interested himself in the matter, and 
they looked about, examining various houses, 
until they found one which they thought would 
answer, and from the description I should think it 
would just suit you. It is a mile away from the 
centre of the place, which I suppose is the reason 
why it happened to be unoccupied, but that makes 
the rent very low; not quite as much as you have 
paid here, and I don’t think you or Louis will 
mind the walk.” 

“Not a bit,” said Mrs. Thorne. “We are more 
than that distance from town here.” 

“ Is that possible ? ” she said, in surprise. “ It 
never seemed so much to me, perhaps because I 
am so used to walking out here. But you must 
not expect anything very fine. It is the tiniest 
dot of a house you ever saw — not nearly so large 


CECILS KNIGHT . 


215 


as this. I think there are only three rooms, little 
ones at that ; and an unfinished space above, 
under the roof, which you can call an attic, if you 
like. It is a tiny thing, but it is in very decent 
repair, and there is quite a garden spot attached 
to it.” 

“It will be plenty big enough,” Mrs. Thorne 
said, with a glad ring in her voice. “ I am only 
too thankful to have a prospect of having a roof 
over my head.” 

“Dr. Gardiner thought you would not object 
to its size,” Miss Cecil said, enjoying her delight ; 
“ and he was so certain that you would be pleased 
with it, that he ventured to rent it; subject, of 
course, to your approval. 4 Taking the refusal of 
it for two days,’ he called it ; so that if you did not 
want it, he could give up the bargain.” 

“ But I do want it,” Mrs. Thorne said hastily. 
“ I want it very much. Tell him so, please. And 
if you would be so kind as to thank him for me — 
for I am sure I never can thank him half enough. 
You don’t know what a burden of care he has 
lifted from my mind. It was so good of him to 
think of us,, and to take all that trouble for us.” 

“I am sure it would have been very bad of 
him,” Miss Cecil said gayly, 44 and not at all like 
him, if he had not thought of you, when Provi- 
dence led him straight to a place so evidently 
meant for you. Yes ; I will take charge of your 
thanks for him. They will be easily given, for he 


216 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


will not want anything more than to hear that 
you are pleased. But he will come himself to see 
you, and will tell you all about the place and 
work. I think he meant to come in to-night. It 
was good of him to let me have the pleasure of 
giving you the first news of it ; and you will have 
the pleasure of telling Louis.” 

“ It will be a pleasure,” his mother said. “ It 
will be a wonderful relief to him as well as to me ; 
he has been so anxious. He has been even more 
troubled about it than I have, and he is young to 
have the burden of such care. I am sorry to hav.e 
his boyhood so clouded.” 

“ He has been anxious lately,” Miss Cecil re- 
plied ; “ though I do think he has tried to ‘ take 
no thought for the morrow.’ People do not learn 
that in one lesson. But generally, he is one of 
the happiest boys in my class, in spite of all he has 
to depress him. I shall miss him very much. That 
is the one unpleasant thing about it : that we shall 
lose you all. But, then, when it is so plainly for 
your advantage, we have no right to be selfish.” 

“ Louis will miss his Sunday-school exceed- 
ingly,” Mrs. Thorne answered. “And l shall be 
sorry, too, to take him from Miss Rawson’s school. 
He is just getting interested in his lessons enough 
to study as he should. I have never known him 
to do as well as he has this term, though he has 
had so much outside work to do.” 

“ Perhaps the outside work helped him,” Miss 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


21 1 


Cecil suggested. “ I am glad he is doing so well. 
But he will find better school privileges at Wes- 
terham than we have here. There is a famous 
academy there, which will give him as good an 
education as he can get without going to college. 
I am very glad to hear that he is beginning to 
realize the importance of studying while he can. 
You ought to be very proud of your boy, Mrs. 
Thorne ! ” 

Mrs. Thorne smiled as she answered, “Well, I 
really think I do my duty in that line, if I don’t 
in any other ! ” 

“ J wish I could stay until he comes home,” 
Miss Cecil said. “ I should like to see his pleasure. 
But 1 shall hear of it, for I hope to see you all 
again before you go.” 

She kissed Freda, and went away, leaving sun- 
shine behind her. Mrs. Thorne resumed her pack- 
ing; but she was surprised to see how much easier 
it was to fold the garments and lay them in, now 
that she knew where they were going. 

Her heart was full of thankfulness to Him who 
had, in a manner so little anticipated, opened the 
way for which she had so long been looking. She 
had really expected it, day by day ; she thought 
she had fully believedThat it would be found ; but 
now, when her “ faith was lost in sight,” the very 
relief she felt showed her that a little lurking 
doubt or fear had lingered in her heart. 

She was reminded of a story she had heard of 


218 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


an old farmer, who was soliloquizing as he drove 
his oxen home at night, concerning his belief in 
universal salvation. “ I tell you, they can’t move 
me,” he said confidentially to himself ; “ I’m as 
firm as a rock. I know what I believe as well as 
any of the parsons do. There’s no danger of my 
not getting to heaven. My doctrine is true ; I 
know it is ; and yet — and yet, I’d give that yoke 
of oxen to be sure of it ! ” 

So she found that while she had said the Lord 
would provide for them, and had really thought 
she believed it, yet she had not been quite sure of 
it. It was so much easier to believe now, when 
she could see the provision He had made ! But 
she made fresh resolutions, that, come what might, 
she would never doubt Him again. 

When Louis came home, he found a different 
atmosphere in the house from what he had left 
there. Through the windows he heard his mother 
singing at her work, and Freda’s childish treble 
chiming in, before he reached the house, and was 
both surprised and glad that they could feel so 
much lighter-hearted than he did. No one had 
felt in a singing mood there for many days. 

But when he heard the glad tidings which Freda 
shouted to him the moment he opened the door, 
he understood what the singing meant. He tossed 
his hat into the air, catching it deftly as it came 
down, and gave three rousing cheers upon the 
spot, in which Freda was only too glad to help. 


CECILS KNIGHT . 


219 


He hugged his mother till she cried for mercy; 
he executed an Indian war dance, to Freda’s 
great delight, waving the bread-knife round his 
head, and uttering unearthly howls ; he committed 
all sorts of extravagances. 

Miss Cecil might well say that she would like 
to see his pleasure, though he would probably 
have been less demonstrative, under the restraint 
of her presence. 

No stranger who had happened to see the 
jubilee that the little family held for the next half- 
hour, would have guessed that the cause of all 
their rejoicing was nothing more than the prospect 
of a little house to live in, and a chance to work 
for their living ! 

But a home of one’s own, however tiny it may 
be, is a wonderfully valuable thing, when the 
dreaded poor-house looms in the distance ; and a 
chance to work for one’s living is all that people 
like the Thornes would ask or wish for, since with 
it they would retain their independence, and shut 
the door in the face of reluctant charity. 

They quieted down at last enough to attend to 
supper, at which Freda’s famous cake made a 
great figure. She said it came just in time to 
help them to celebrate the occasion. Louis found 
it impossible to keep still ; he was too much ex- 
cited; and while the others ate their supper, he 
walked restlessly back and forth in the little 


room. 


220 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


He and Freda indulged in all sorts of specula- 
tions about the new home, the new work, the new 
school, the new church, the new friends, the every- 
thing new, which made it seem to them like going 
into a new world ; while their mother listened, 
put in a cautionary word now and then, when 
their imaginations took altogether too high a 
flight, and enjoyed their gladness and their bright 
anticipations. 

“ There will be farmers there, of course,” Louis 
said, “because there are always farmers every- 
where. I shall get another place like Mr. Law- 
rence’s, just as soon as we get settled, and go to 
that famous school. I believe that is the best 
thing of the whole. And it is so good that we are 
going to get there before the term begins. Every- 
thing seems to come just right, all at once, after 
this doleful time. Now, if Harry could only go 
too, it would be complete. 1 shall miss him so 
much ! I wonder if his father wouldn’t send him 
there, by and by ? ” 

He was proceeding to build a series of beautiful 
castles, whose only defect was in their very airy 
foundation, when Freda interrupted him with the 
tidings that she saw Dr. Gardiner coming over the 
bridge. 

He was not their family physician ; but this was 
not, by any means, his first call at Mrs. Thorne’s 
house. He was no stranger there, for, as superin- 
tendent of the Sunday-school, he made it his^busi- 


CECILS KNIGHT . 


221 


ness to look after “ his boys,” and call upon them 
at their homes. 

He came in briskly now, the heat of the evening 
seeming to have no depressing effect upon him. 
He had always been a special favorite with Louis, 
even before he heard Miss Cecil’s story of him; 
and one thing for which he liked him was, he said, 
that he “ never dawdled, but always walked as if 
he was going somewhere, and meant to get there.” 

He chatted a moment with Freda, and accepted 
a bit of her cake, said a pleasant word or two to 
Louis, and then turned to business. 

He explained to Mrs. Thorne just what her 
work would be, and told her the amount she 
would probably be able to earn ; small at first, but 
increasing as she gained in readiness and skill, to a 
sum that she had never earned before. He 
thought the change would be a very desirable one 
for her, and would have recommended her to 
make it, even if her work on straw had not been 
interrupted. Then he described the little house, 
which, as Miss Cecil had told them, he said he had 
taken the liberty to engage for them. He thought 
it would make them a very cosey little home, and 
if they liked the place, and stayed there, Louis 
might dig potatoes in his own garden the next 
year, instead of in Mr. Lawrence’s fields. 

“You must let me see to moving your goods 
and chattels for you,” he said as he rose to go ; 
“and then Louis can go with you and Freda to 
the new home, and be ready to receive them/’ 


222 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


“ Oh, thank you,” she answered gratefully ; “but 
there will really be no need for you to take all 
that trouble. You have done so much for us 
already that I don’t know how to thank you. I 
think we could manage very well. You see there 
are not very many of them,” she said, looking 
round the scantily furnished room. 

His glance followed hers. 

“But I should not be surprised if you should 
think there were too many, before you get them 
all packed,” he said lightly. “ When one is mov- 
ing, it isn’t an unusual thing to wish that one had 
fewer possessions. It is the only time that I know 
of that people want less to call their own. Things 
seem to have a wonderful way of multiplying 
themselves then, just for the time, until one feels 
as if there was no end to them. You must get 
them ready, and then let me take them in hand. 
How soon will you be ready for the flitting ? ” 

“By to-morrow,” Mrs. Thorne said promptly, 
with a glance at Louis, who nodded approval. 

“ Oh, there can be no need for such haste as 
that,” Dr. Gardiner said, with a smile. “That 
would keep you working late to-night, and hurry- 
ing in the morning. It seems to me that we had 
better say the next day. Then I will send Lynn’s 
man here in the morning, and you will be ready to 
take tea in your new home by night. If you get 
through your preparations as early as you think 
you will to-morrow, you will not be sorry to have 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


223 


a little time to rest, and to say good by to your 
friends here.” 

So it was arranged at last; and Louis and his 
mother recognized the wisdom of the plan when 
they found how very busy the work kept them all 
the next day. 

There were so many things, such things as will 
accumulate in the course of years in even the sim- 
plest household, over which they had to hold dis- 
cussions, — whether they were too good to be 
thrown away, or were good enough to keep; 
whether these articles would be likely ever to be 
of use again, or how those could best be packed so 
as to make the journey in safety, — that the time 
slipped away much faster than they expected. 

But by night everything was ready, and put 
in a compact shape ready for Dr. Gardiner’s man 
in the morning. Even their bedsteads were taken 
down, and they laid their mattresses on the floor 
of the dismantled house for the night, which 
Freda thought was great fun. 

Not until everything was done that could be 
done that day, and he had seen his mother resting 
quietly, did Louis feel himself at liberty to make 
the farewell visits of which Dr. Gardiner had 
spoken. He went first to his kind friend, Mr. 
Lawrence, who was much surprised at the sudden 
move, of which he had heard nothing. 

44 So I am going to lose my spare man, am I ? ” 
he said, when he had inquired into all the particu- 


224 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


lars. “ When I saw nothing of you to-day, I 
thought you might he tired of work, and meant to 
take a holiday ; but I didn’t dream of your going 
off, bag and baggage ! ” 

“ But I don’t think it would make any difference 
if I was tired of it,” Louis objected ; “ I should 
come just the same. To tell the truth, I have been 
tired of it two or three times, but I don’t believe 
anybody found it out. When a thing has got to 
be done, you know, it doesn’t help me much to go 
to considering whether I’m tired or not ; I get 
along better if I just keep at work, and think of 
something else. But I know I was glad when I 
picked up the last potato ! And 1 thought I 
shouldn’t care much, if I never saw another.” 

“ I dare say,” Mr. Lawrence responded, laughing. 
“ But you worked well at them ; I will say that 
for you. I shall have to teach Harry to fill your 
place.” 

“Oh, don’t think of it!” Harry said, in pre- 
tended alarm ; “ I couldn’t fill it ; I should only 
rattle round in it, as somebody said ! I like better 
to watch Louis work, than to work myself.” 

“ Honestly owned, at any rate,” said his father. 
“Well, Louis, if things don’t go as well as you 
expect at Westerliam, you must come back to us. 
You will find your place always ready for you. 
If there are no potatoes to dig, there’ll be some- 
thing else to do. You may be glad to come back 
yet. Farming is a good thing for steady work, 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


225 


though one don’t very often make a fortune by it, 
hand over hand. Good by, my boy, and good luck 
to you ! ” 

Mrs. Lawrence added her good wishes, and sent 
kind messages to his mother ; and Margaret — who 
had heard what was going on, and who had become 
much attached to Louis during the hours they had 
spent together, while he enjoyed the good suppers 
she prepared, and she enjoyed not less watching 
the good appetite with which he disposed of them 
— contrived to be in the way as he was leaving 
the house, with a huge doughnut for a parting gift. 

“ Sure I fried it a purpose for ye,” she said ; 
“ and if I’d thought it was the last, I’d have made 
wan twice the bigness of it. But good luck go wid 
yees ! Ye’ll be afther cornin’ back again to see us, 
I hope?” 

“ Indeed I will, Margaret, if I live,” Louis said. 

He had been much touched by the kindness of 
his friends, and could hardly answer Margaret’s 
warm-hearted greeting. 

“ Live, is it ? ” she cried, half indignantly. “ An’ 
why wouldn’t you? May you live to ate the hin 
that scratches on your grave ! ” 

Margaret’s kind wish entirely overcame Louis’ 
melting mood, and both he and Harry burst into 
a laugh. 

“ How plain it is that you left Ireland lately, 
Margaret ! ” Harry exclaimed. 

“ Well, an’ if I did, there’s no better place to 
leave,” she answered quickly. 


226 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


Harry nodded, for he could not speak. 

“ It was my cousin, Bridget Halloran, brought 
me over,” Margaret went on. “It does well 
enough for now, though it’s not like Ireland, and 
I like yees all ; hut if I live till I die, — and God 
knows whether I will or not, — I hope to see Ire- 
land itself again before. I leave America! ” 

“ I hope you will,” Louis managed to say ; and 
then the two boys fairly took to their heels, to 
have their laugh out in peace, without the danger 
of hurting the feelings of the good-hearted girl. 

The laugh did them good, and they went on 
their way, chatting quite cheerfully. Harry had 
insisted on walking home with Louis : he could 
not bear to lose the last chance they would have 
of taking that walk together which they had taken 
so many times. He felt as if he was losing a 
brother, they had been intimate friends so long, 
and were bound together by so many ties. He 
found some comfort in Louis’ suggestion that he 
might follow him to Westerham Academy, and 
declared that he would speak to his father about it 
as soon as he reached home, and wondered if Mrs. 
Thorne would take him as a boarder. 

Then they fell into graver talk. With a touch 
of girlish sentiment they exchanged Testaments, 
and agreed to read the same chapter daily, and to 
pray for each other; and then, with promises of 
frequent letters, they parted. 

Though it was growing late, Louis went on to 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


227 


Miss Cecil’s; he could not go without seeing her; 
but he was not fortunate there. She was engaged 
with guests ; and though she excused herself to 
them, and came out to speak to him, she could 
not leave them long. So, instead of the long, 
helpful talk, on which he had been counting, 
there was time only for a hurried good by, with 
messages of regret to his mother and Freda, that 
she had not been able to see them again, as she 
had hoped and half promised. 

“For yourself, Louis,” she said as they parted, 
“ remember that you are not only my knight, but 
a Christian knight, pledged to God’s service. Do 
your devoir bravely. If you ever happen to stand 
alone in defending the right, with the odds against 
you, don’t yield an inch ; but remember that God 
is always on the side of right, and that 4 one, with 
God, is a majority.’ I shall be exceedingly dis- 
appointed if I hear anything but good news of 
you. Never be afraid to show your colors, or to 
declare under whose flag you fight ; and don’t be 
led into any wrong-doing by ridicule or sneers, but 
live bravely up to the motto of your service, 

4 Loyalty to God before all.’ ” 

44 1 mean to try my best for it,” Louis answered ; 
44 but I shall miss your help so much ! ” 

“Not more than I shall miss yours,” she said 
kindly. 44 You need not look surprised. You have 
given me more help and encouragement than you 
know.” 


228 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


With that pleasant and most unexpected bit 
of comfort to cheer him, he left her, and went 
home, stopping only for a few minutes at Mr. Rus- 
sell’s, to give a message from his mother, and to 
say good by to his pastor and his friend Willie. 

Very fortunately for them, the weather the 
next day was all that could be wished, so that the 
arrangements which Dr. Gardiner had kindly made 
for them met with no hindrance. They left the 
house empty and swept, ready for the new owner ; 
and, as Dr. Gardiner had predicted, when night 
came, they were in their new home, ready for 
supper. 

The man he sent had not only unloaded the 
furniture, but had put it in place under Mrs. 
Thorne’s directions, and had helped Louis to put 
up the stove and the beds, making himself of the 
greatest possible use ; but when Mrs. Thorne 
asked him what she was to pay him, he only 
laughed, and said he had been already paid, and 
it was not the rule in his business to pay at both 
ends of a trip. He drove off, to the music of his 
own whistling, and the three were left well es- 
tablished in their new home. 

It was a tiny house, as they had been told ; but 
it was large enough for all their needs. It had 
no paint, except that which the sun and wind had 
given it ; but they are good artists, and the color 
harmonized well with the landscape around it. 
The windows were of the smallest, and moss was 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


229 


finding a foothold on the roof. The house stood 
on a little knoll ; green grass grew all around it ; 
a great oak spread its protecting branches over it, 
and a little grove of pines stood not far away, 
with its clean carpet of brown needles. The gar- 
den of which Miss Cecil had spoken sloped down 
to the little river which flowed behind the house. 

They looked around with well-satisfied eyes on 
their new domain. They had thought only of 
shelter, and had not expected this pretty, peaceful 
scene ; and Mrs. Thorne said, “ I don’t wonder 
that Dr. Gardiner thought this place would suit 
us. We should be very hard to please if it did 
not. We ought to be very happy here, everything 
is so pleasant.” 

Within, the little room seemed very home-like 
to them already, and the kettle was soon singing 
over the fire, quite contented with the warm re- 
ception that had been given to it, and serenely 
unconscious of the journey it had taken since 
morning. 

They unpacked their basket of eatables, which 
contained bread and butter, Freda’s eggs, and the 
remainder of her cake — a tiny piece which she had 
treasured up ; and though the supply was rather 
scanty, they found themselves hungry and tired 
enough to thoroughly enjoy the first meal in the 
new home. 

Before they had finished their supper, a young 
girl came to the door, bringing a basket, and a 


230 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


pitcher closely wrapped in a towel, from which 
fragrant steam escaped. 

“ I am Lucy Prince,” she said, introducing her- 
self, and holding out a friendly hand to Mrs. 
Thorne. “We are your nearest neighbors. We 
live in that white house over there, and we are 
very glad to have somebody in this house again. 
Mother said she knew you would be too tired to 
cook much to-night, and she sent you a pie and 
some coffee. She hoped I should be in time for 
your supper, but I see I am a little late.” 

“Not too late,” Mrs. Thorne said cordially. 
“We are very much obliged, both to your mother 
and you. I am glad we have fallen among such 
kind neighbors. The very smell of that coffee is 
enough to refresh me.” 

“ Then I hope the taste will do it,” Lucy said. 
“ Mother creamed and sugared it, for she thought 
perhaps you wouldn’t have things handy yet ; so 
you have nothing to do but to drink it. No ; I 
am not going to sit down. You must be too tired 
to want to see people to-night; but mother will 
come oyer to-morrow. She said she thought you 
would sleep better for knowing that you had a 
friend within reach, if you needed one. I hope we 
shall be good neighbors, Mrs. Thorne.” 

Therewith she departed, and the coffee and pie 
remained to testify in her behalf. 

“Now I call that very kind,” Mi£. Thorne said. 
“ A neighbor who is so thoughtful for strangers, 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


231 


must be worth having. It is a comfort, as she 
said, to know that we have a friend within reach. 
And I am sure the coffee will help me to sleep — 
if I don’t drink it ! — by the kindness of which it 
is the token. I wish I dared drink it, it smells so 
good.” 

She contented herself with only tasting it, and 
then put it away for breakfast, while Louis at- 
tacked the pie. 

Whether it was owing to their good neighbor’s 
thoughtfulness, or to her own precaution, must 
remain unknown ; but certainly they all slept 
soundly that night, and were up bright and early 
in the morning. 

There was so much to be done that the day 
seemed too short for it. Louis helped his mother 
until things were sufficiently in order for her to 
be able to leave them, and report herself to Mr. 
Howarth as being ready for work. She was anx- 
ious to begin at the earliest possible moment. 

A little later Louis left Freda in charge of the 
premises, and sallied forth in search of work for 
himself. He had no thought of failure, for his 
mother had not wished to discourage him by sug- 
gesting doubts of his success. Where there were 
farmers, he reasoned, there must be work wanted ; 
but he soon learned, that though it was true that 
there were farmers in town, and that they wanted 
their work done, it was not less true that they did 
not care to engage a boy, and a strange boy at that, 
to do it. 


232 


CECILS KNIGHT. 

He reported the failure of his attempt at home. 
But though he was not inclined to say much about 
it, beyond the mere statement of the fact, he wore 
a very sober face, and it did not grow more cheer- 
ful as the days went on, and his repeated trials 
brought no better success. 

His mother earned very little while she was 
learning to work, as Dr. Gardiner had told her in 
the outset would be the case ; and after the little 
taste of independence he had had in contributing 
his share to the family treasury, Louis could not 
bear the thought of being dependent on her scanty 
earnings for the bread he ate. He wanted to be a 
support instead of a burden. 

He was soon obliged to give up the hope he had 
cherished of going to school, and only working 
out of school hours, as he had done at Mr. Law- 
rence’s. It was a question of getting any place, 
not of getting such a one as he liked. It was evi- 
dent that the school part of his plan had not a 
chance of success, but it cost him a great struggle 
to give it up, even though his mother said she 
meant that he should enter the school just as soon 
as she could earn a little more. That was not the 
same thing, he said. He wanted the chance to 
study, but he did not want to get it in that way, 
and he renewed his efforts. 

He applied to their good neighbor, Mrs. Prince, 
for help or suggestions. She made out a list for 
him of all the farmers in town, as far as she knew 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


233 


them, and he went the rounds of them all, cross- 
ing off one name after another from his list. 

But they were scattered all over the outskirts 
of the town ; and when he had walked out three 
miles to see one and met only a^curt refusal, the 
road seemed to lengthen before his feet as he came 
back, and he had less courage for the next long 
walk, which ended in the same way. The refusal 
always came, and the difference was only in the 
manner of it. Each time it seemed harder to go 
home and report his ill-success, though his mother 
only smiled and said? cheerfully: — 

“ Better luck next time, Louis. We can manage 
for the present and shall soon be better off. Re- 
member that there’s a good time coming, and 
don’t lose courage.” 

But the more willing she was to take care of 
him, the more unwilling he was to be taken care 
of. He seemed to have grown manly in the last 
few weeks. He felt as if he ought to be support- 
ing her; but since he could not do that yet, the 
least he could do was to relieve her of the burden 
of supporting him, and yet it seemed impossible 
to do even that. Wherever there was a chance 
of any one’s wanting a boy, he tried, from the 
storekeepers to the newsman, offering, at last, to 
work for only his board ; but no one wanted him. 
He began to realize what his good friend, Mr. 
Lawrence, had done for him. 

He had not forgotten how the Lord had showed 


234 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


them a way out of their last trouble, and he 
prayed daily for His help in this, — at first, with 
a firm faith that it would come ; and later, with 
only a resolute perseverance. His prayer was like 
that of another : 

The thing I ask Thee for, — how small, 

How trivial must it seem to Thee ! 

Yet, Lord, Thou knowest, who knowest all, 

It is no little thing to me. 

So weak, so human, as I be ! 

Therefore I make my prayer to-day. 

And as a father pitieth, jthen, 

Grant me this little thing, I pray, 

Through the one sacred Name. Amen ! 

As the days went on, and it did not come, he 
was almost in despair. He did not know where 
to apply next, when one night Mrs. Prince came 
in. 

“ No, thank you, I can’t sit down,” she said ; “ I 
only came in of an errand. I’ve been spending 
the afternoon with Sally Johnson. I thought of 
you and asked her if she knew of a place for you. 
She generally- knows everybody’s business, and it 
was a good chance to make her knowledge useful 
to somebody. She told me that she did hear 
awhile ago that Aunt Solomon wanted help, but 
she didn’t know of anybody else. There may not 
anything come of it, you know, for it was some 
time ago that Sally heard of it, and the place, 
very likely, has been taken; but you might try, 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


235 


Louis. No, I can’t stop a minute longer, but I 
thought I would just run in and tell you before I 
went home.” 

“ Oh, thank you, Mrs. Prince ! What a good 
friend you are ! Of course I’ll try,” Louis said, 
springing up. “But who is Aunt Solomon? Where 
does she live ? And what’s her other name ? I 
don’t suppose I’m to ask to see ‘ Aunt Solomon.’ ” 

Mrs. Prince laughed. 

“Well, I don’t know but that you would find 
her about as soon that way as any,” she answered. 
“Everybody knows her by that name. You will 
soon find out why when you see her. But you 
might as well ask for Mrs. Deacon Marten.” 

“ It is too late to go to-night, Louis,” his mother 
said. “ You must wait till morning.” 

“Don’t be too sure of getting it, either,” Mrs. 
Prince repeated. “It is only a chance. I didn’t 
mean to stir you up so. Most likely she has got 
somebody by this time ! ” 

“I dare say,” Louis rejoined. “ But if she hasn’t, 
she will have the chance to get me in the morn- 
ing ! I do hope the wheel of Fortune has turned 
at last.” 

Mrs. Prince gave him full directions for finding 
the house, and then, with her best wishes for his 
success, left him to wait as patiently as he might 
for the morning. 


236 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


CHAPTER XI. 


“ Sometime, when all life’s lessons have been learned, 

And sun and stars forevermore have set, 

The things which our weak judgments here have spurned 
The things o’er which we grieved with lashes wet, 

Will flash before us, out of life’s dark night, 

As stars shine most in deeper tints of blue ; 

And we shall see how all God’s plans were right, 

And how what seemed reproof, was love most true. 

And we shall see how, while we frown and sigh, 

God’s plans go on as best for you and me ; 

How, when we called, He heeded not our cry, 

Because His wisdom to the end could see, 

And even as prudent parents disallow 
Too much of sweet to craving babyhood, 

So God, perhaps, is keeping from us now 

Life’s sweetest things because it seemeth good.” 


HERE’S somebody knocking, Sophy! You 



will have to go to the door. If I go, who- 
ever it is, will stand there and talk till noon. I 
dare say it is a book agent, or a man selling 
notions. It’s ‘in for a penny, in for a pound,’ when 
they get hold of one. Tell ’em I’ve got everything 
in the world that I want, and haven’t a cent to 
buy anything more, nor a minute to spend talking 
about it. There, he’s knocking again ! Don’t stop 
to prink any longer, you foolish girl ! What do you 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


237 


suppose he will care liow you look ? ‘ All horses 
are the same color to a blind man.’ Do hurry ! ” 

Sophy hurried, according to orders, while she 
was within reach of her mother’s eyes; but she 
stopped on the stairs to pull down her sleeves, and 
glanced at the looking-glass, as she went through 
the sitting-room, to satisfy herself that her hair 
was in order. 

“ If it’s a book agent, I don’t mind,” she said to 
herself ; “ but if it’s somebody else, I don’t care to 
look like a Hottentot ! ” 

“ It’s a boy who wants to see you,” she said, 
coming back to her mother presently. 

“ I’ll warrant it,” Mrs. Marten said impatiently. 
“ If ever I’m up to my elbows in suds, or have 
turned the house out of the windows for spring 
cleaning, some one is sure to call ; but if I happen 
to be dressed up in my Sunday best, with nothing 
to do but to hold my hands, not even a tin pedler 
comes near me. I’m sure I haven’t a minute to 
waste on any boy to-day. What does he want of 
me ? Why didn’t you ask him? However, ‘a short 
horse is soon curried.’ I’ll be back in two minutes. 
4 What the fool does in the end, the wise man does in 
the beginning.’ Where did you leave your boy ? ” 

“ Standing at the south door. He wouldn’t come 
in,” Sophy said, getting upon a chair to take down 
a picture, and dusting it energetically. 

Mrs. Marten had been putting down her sleeves 
while she talked, from force of habit, but she recol- 


238 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


lected that it was only a boy, before she untied 
her apron. 

She found the south door closed, and her caller 
standing on the step outside. She gave him a nod 
by way of greeting, and waited for him to declare 
his business. 

He looked at her ; what he saw was a tall 
woman, with a sensible face, and a pair of keen 
eyes ; she was dressed in a neat, dark print, which 
was carefully pinned up, and covered with a huge 
apron, while a brown barege veil was tied over her 
hair, as a substitute for a sweeping-cap. The ends 
of it floated out on each side of her head, as she 
stood in the breeze at the door, giving an odd sug- 
gestion of wings in the wrong place. 

She looked at him ; what she saw was a fairly 
well-grown, strongly built boy of fifteen, with black 
curly hair and bright eyes. He was neatly dressed 
as far as spotless cleanliness went ; but her quick 
eyes noted that the sleeves of his worn jacket had 
been pieced out at the wrist, and patched at the 
elbow, and even a piece of cloth of a different 
shade had repaired some damage on one shoulder ; 
while his trousers were too short, and the shoes 
had evidently seen their best days. 

A glance had shown her these things, and in 
the same instant she summed up the items. “ The 
amount of it is,” she decided mentally, “he’s as 
poor as Job’s cat, but he’s got a good mother. He’s 
as tidy as can be, only he’s grown out of every- 
thing.” 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


239 


He lifted his straw hat respectfully. 

“ Good morning, Mrs. Marten,” he said. “ My 
name is Louis Thorne. Last night I heard that 
you wanted some one to work for you, and I 
should like to get the place.” 

“You?” she said, in surprise. “Oh, I wanted 
a man.” 

“Well, I’m a young man!” he returned pleas- 
antly, seeming in no wise discouraged. “ And 
I think I’m as strong as some older men are, and 
as tall as some others. Couldn’t you forget my 
age — I am growing older every day! — and let 
me try?” 

He straightened himself a little, to look as tall 
as possible, and his frank, pleasant manner spoke 
strongly for him. 

“ You may be as big, but I should be reminded 
soon enough that you are nothing but a boy,” Mrs. 
Marten said, shaking her head. “You are strong 
enough, as far as that goes; but ‘old heads don’t 
grow on young shoulders,’ and you would be a 
care instead of a help. There are boys enough 
about the house now. I should never be sure that 
Dandy had anything to eat, unless I looked in his 
manger.” 

“ Only try me,” Louis urged. “ I’ll promise you 
that he shall always have his dinner before I have 
my own.” 

“Oh, there’s no use talking,” she said impa- 
tiently, thinking of her suspended work. “I’m 


240 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


sure I don’t know what I’m wasting my time with 
you here for. I’ve got plenty else to do with every 
minute of it. I ought to have told you in the 
first place that, though I did say I wanted to hire 
somebody a week ago, I’ve changed my mind 
since, and I’m going to do without. I might find 
an odd job for you now and then, if you don’t get 
steady work,” she added, noticing the shadow that 
fell over his bright face. “ If you were only a girl 
now, you would be just what I want. Haven’t 
you got a sister who wants work? ” 

“ No, ma’am ; Freda is sick,” he said. “ But I 
know how to do girl’s work, Mrs. Marten! I 
really do. I have always helped my mother about 
the house, and she says sometimes that I am as 
good as a girl ! She would give me a recommenda- 
tion for housework, I know. Do let me try. I 
am sure I could do it.” 

“ You ridiculous boy ! ” Mrs. Marten responded, 
laughing heartily. “ A minute ago you were sure 
you could do a man’s work, and now you think you 
can do a girl’s. I should like to see you at it ! ” 

“ I shall be very glad to let you see me, if you 
will give me the chance,” he said, joining in her 
laugh. “ I don’t pretend that I can sew, though 1 
suppose I could learn to do that on a pinch. It 
can’t be anything very hard. But I know that I 
can sweep, and help about the washing, and cook 
some things ; for I have often done it. I don’t 
say that I like that kind of work, but I can do it, 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


241 


when I can’t get the kind that 1 do like. Indeed, 
Mrs. Marten, I am in earnest,” he said, growing 
grave again. “ Since we moved here, I have tried 
everywhere to get work, and I can’t find any. 
This seems to be my last chance, and I want very 
much to get it, because my mother has no one but 
me to help her, and instead of helping, I am only 
a burden. It seems a shame that a great, strong 
fellow like me should not be able to support him- 
self. So I will do any honest work. I don’t care 
what it is.” 

“I believe you, my boy,” Mrs. Marten said, 
with unwonted kindness. “ But you don’t realize 
how unpleasant this would be. It is vacation now ; 
but school begins next week, and some of the 
Academy boys board with me. You would not 
want to do such work after they came. You 
don’t know how they would torment you.” 

“ But I should do it all the same, whether I 
wanted to or not,” he returned. “I’ve learned 
that lesson. If the boys want to amuse them- 
selves, I suppose they can ; but it will be an old 
story before long, and I shan’t let them keep me 
from any work I can get. I will do anything, 
except to steal or to beg.” 

Mrs. Marten wavered a little. Thrift hinted 
that the combination of man-and-maid-servant, 
though unusual, would be very convenient ; com- 
passion whispered that he needed the place ; her 
womanly nature was attracted by his frank speech 


242 


CECILS KNIGHT . 


and pleasant face, no less than by his resolute 
spirit. He saw her hesitation, and pressed his 
advantage. 

“Suppose you were to take me on trial for a 
day or two ? ” he suggested. “ Then you could tell 
whether I was likely to be worth my salt.” 

“Well,” she said at last, “it’s a queer thing to 
do, but I may be sorry if I don’t do it. ‘ Some 
refuse roast meat, and afterwards long for the 
smoke of it.’ I believe I will try you, as you say. 
What wages do you want ? ” 

“ Something to eat, and whatever you think I 
earn,” he answered. 

“ Well, that’s fair,” she said. “ 4 When two ride 
the same horse, one must ride behind ; ’ but if I am 
both buyer and seller, I’ll see that you are not 
cheated. When will you come ? ” 

“ Oh, I have come ! ” he said gayly. His spirits 
had gone up with a bound. “ I can stay now, if 
you like. Mother will know that I have found 
work.” 

“Very well. Then come up stairs,” she said, 
pleased with his promptness. “We are cleaning 
house, and I can’t waste any more time, if I am 
going to get through before those boys come back 
again.” 

He followed her up stairs, and she presented 
him to the much-astonished Sophy. 

“ Here’s Bridget’s successor,” she said. “ I hope 
he will be an improvement on her. There’s room 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


243 


enough for it. Oh, you have got all the books 
and pictures out, and cleared the room. That’s a 
good beginning. Where’s the tack-hammer ? This 
carpet is to come up, Louis.” 

He set to work at once, drew out the tacks, 
folded the carpet, carried it into the yard, and 
began cleaning it in a most satisfactory way. 

Sophy seized the opportunity of his absence to 
shower questions about him upon her mother, who 
was quite unable to answer most of them. 

“But I never heard of such a thing!” Sophy 
said, when she had learned. all she could. “He 
only thinks of the work ; and I dare say he can do 
that, for if his face tells the truth, he has ten times 
Bridget’s sense ; but I don’t believe he has counted 
on the rest of it. When Jim Burton finds out 
that he is doing girl’s work, he won’t give him 
much peace. I can’t say that I should want to 
stand in his shoes ! ” 

“Well, ‘a laugh breaks no bones,’” Mrs. Mar- 
ten said, with much composure. “ I guess we 
won’t disturb ourselves about it. 4 Our worst mis- 
fortunes are those that never happen.’ Louis 
looks wide aAvake, and I have an impression that 
he can take care of himself. I told him about the 
boys, but he did not seem frightened about them. 
I shan’t be surprised if he gives Jim Burton as 
good as he sends. I’ve taken a fancy to him.” 

“ But you know nothing about him,” Sophy 
said. 


244 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


44 Not a thing,” her mother assented, 44 except 
just what my own eyes and ears have told me. I 
shall trust their testimony for the present. The 
boy’s face speaks for him. If he doesn’t suit us, 
we shall be no worse off than we were before, and 
he may be real good help. 4 The proof of the 
pudding is in the eating.’ ” 

44 He has a pleasant face,” Sophy admitted, look- 
ing out of a window which gave a view of the 
yard, and the new help at his work , 44 and I believe 
he is smart. Do see how he goes at that carpet ! 
Doesn’t he make the dust fly ! If he isn’t 4 strik- 
ing twelve ’ now, he’ll be a treasure.” 

44 Mustn’t expect too much,” Mrs. Marten said. 
44 He’s nothing but a boy, and I don’t suppose he 
is perfect. 4 He who wants a horse without a 
fault may go afoot.’ But I liked the spirit he 
showed ; he was ready to take what he could get, 
if he could not get what he liked. That’s the 
kind of boy that succeeds in the world. He can 
try it awhile, and I’ll be on the lookout to find a 
place with more suitable work for him. But I 
wish those boys would just let him alone.” 

44 They won’t, then,” Sophy said, shaking her 
head. 44 It will be nuts to them, you may depend.” 

44 And if I try to caution them, it will only be 
4 showing the cat the way to the cream,’ ” Mrs. 
Marten said. 44 We shall have to let him fight his 
own battles, for anything I see. 4 Every fox has 
to take care of his own tail.’ But boys are unfeel- 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


245 


ing creatures sometimes, and I’m afraid he won’t 
lie on a bed of roses.” 

They worked silently, considering this point, 
until Louis appeared, with a flushed face, and 
said : — 

“T think the carpet is clean, Mrs. Marten. 
What comes next ? ” 

“ Can you wash windows ? ” she asked, looking 
round the room. 

“I should think so,” he answered. “At 'least, 
I can follow directions. Where shall I find my 
tools?” 

She gave him his “ tools ” and his directions, 
ending with, “ Take care of the corners.” 

“ That sounds natural,” he said, setting to work ; 
“ for my mother always looked at the corners, to 
see if the room was clean, after I had swept it.” 

“ That shows that she is a sensible woman,” 
Mrs. Marten said, appreciating that bit of house- 
wifely wisdom. 

“ You would think so, if you knew her,” Louis 
replied, rubbing the glass vigorously, by way of 
emphasis, until it shone again. “She’s just the 
best mother a boy ever had ! ” 

“If you said a girl,” Sophy interposed, “I 
should have something to say, because that would 
be my mother ! ” 

“ Nonsense,” Mrs. Marten said, though she 
looked pleased. “But it’s just as well that you 
should think so. ‘Every mother’s child is hand- 


246 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


some,’ and by the same rule, I suppose every 
child’s mother is good. I should like to see your 
mother, Louis. Have you only that sick sister 
you spoke of ? ” 

“ Only Freda,” he answered. 

“ What an odd name,” said Sophy. 

“Do you think so?” he returned. “She was 
named Winifred after my mother, but father 
always called mother Winnie, and the two Win- 
nies made a confusion, so we gave Freda the 
other end of the name.” 

There was a little change in his voice when he 
spoke of his father ; and Mrs. Marten noticing it, 
refrained from asking the question about him 
which was on the tip of her tongue, and changed 
it to an inquiry about Freda’s health. 

“ I don’t know whether you would call her 
sick,” Louis said doubtfully. “She doesn’t take 
much medicine now, and she eats like other people ; 
but she hurt her back some months ago, and the 
doctors said she must not try to sit up for at least 
a year : so she has to stay in bed.” 

“ Oh, poor child ! ” said Sophy. “ How hard 
that must be ! How did you happen to come 
here ? Did you have friends here ? ” 

“ Oh, no,” he answered ; “ we knew no one, but 
a friend of ours knew Mr. Howarth, and got a 
place for mother to work with him, and I was 
glad to come, because of the academy. We hired 
that tiny cottage next Mr. Prince’s, on W oodland 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


247 


street, very cheap, and I hoped to find a place 
where I could get work, and perhaps go to school 
part of the day. But I very soon found that I 
should have to drop the school idea, and I began 
to fear the rest must follow it; for I couldn’t find 
anybody who would take me at any price until 1 
came to you, and I was getting pretty well dis- 
couraged.” 

“ Oh, well, I wouldn’t do that. 4 A stout heart 
breaks ill-luck,’ you know,” kind-hearted Mrs. Mar- 
ten said. “It is true that boys are more plenty 
than places, at this time of year, but we’ll be on 
the watch. ‘All comes round to him who can 
wait,’ and something will turn up for you, never 
fear.” 

“ Thank you,” he said, with evident sincerity. 
“ I know there’s never any use in getting blue, 
and I don’t often do it ; but things did look rather 
dark this morning, and I didn’t know where to 
turn next. I’m all right now.” 

“Then perhaps you would like something to 
eat by and by,” she said. “ Sophy can finish here, 
while we get dinner.” 

Sophy made a comical face, and Louis smiled. 

“You have no faith in my powers, just because 
I’m a boy,” he said ; “ but you will see ! Aren’t 
my windows as bright as your Bridget would 
have made them ? I have — Oh, let me carry 
that ! ” he broke off, catching a pail of water from 
Mrs. Marten’s hand. 


248 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


They went down stairs, and he speedily showed 
that he had not overstated his own abilities. He 
put the fire in order, filled the kettles with water, 
prepared the vegetables, laid the table, and in fact 
did everything that she had been accustomed to 
expect from her servant girl, and did it all with a 
deft readiness which contrasted strongly with the 
style of service which Bridget had been wont to 
render. His mistress’ heart was won long before 
dinner was ready. 

44 No, I like to cook my own meat,” she said, 
when he proposed to broil the steak. 44 Then if 
it isn’t right, there’s no one to blame but myself : 
but I don’t doubt that you could do it. I had no 
idea that a boy could be good for so much in the 
house.” 

44 Well, you see a boy has to learn, when his 
mother needs his help,” Louis replied. 44 He has 
to be both son and daughter sometimes. Shall I 
feed Dandy now? I’m interested in his having 
his dinner, since mine depends on his.” ' 

44 1 declare, I had forgotten him ! ” she said. 
44 Yes ; I will show you the way,” and she took 
him out to Dandy’s quarters. 

The barn was connected with the house by a 
long, low woodshed. 

44 So that we can get there without going out 
doors,” she explained. 44 It comes handy in winter 
and wet weather.” 

She introduced him to Dandy, whose looks cer- 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


249 


tainly did not justify his name, and Louis tried in 
vain to find something complimentary to say about 
him. He was too much accustomed to Brown 
Bess’s graceful head and glossy coat to be able to 
admire Dandy. 

“ He seems to know you,” he said, for the horse 
whinnied eagerly when he saw his mistress, and 
began to paw, as if connecting her presence with 
the idea of dinner. 

“ Good old fellow ! ” she said, patting him, and 
supplying him with two or three apples, which he 
ate from her hand. “ I don’t need a horse any 
more than a robin needs a ladder, but I can’t make 
up my mind to sell Dandy, because my husband 
raised him, and was so fond of him. I shall de- 
pend on your taking good care of him, Louis.” 

She showed him how to feed him, and explained 
his other duties, and then they went back to din- 
ner, to which Louis was quite ready to do full 
justice. 

The afternoon was as full of work as the morn- 
ing had been. He wiped the dinner dishes, which 
Sophy washed, and learned where their places 
were; he swept the kitchen, blacked the stove, 
and mopped the floor ; he put down the carpet, 
and took another one up, and was ready with his 
help whenever it was needed ; and through it all 
Mrs. Marten watched him with growing satisfac- 
tion. 

The day’s work was done at last, even the milk- 


250 


CECIL'S KNIGHT 


ing, though Mrs. Marten’s more skilful hands had 
to come to his aid to accomplish that. He filled 
the wood-box, and brought in a basket of chips, in 
readiness for the morning fire, without waiting to 
be told to do it; and Mrs. Marten showed him 
how to “ set a sponge ” for the breakfast rolls. 

Then he said, “ If there is nothing more to do 
to-night, may I go home for an hour ? ” 

“ Certainly,” Mrs. Marten said. “ I am going 
to make you an offer, and you will want to con- 
sult your mother about it. You have proved that 
you are worth your salt, and a potato to eat with 
it. ‘Where the will is ready, the feet are light.’ 
If you choose to stay, I will keep you until we 
can find you a better place. If you still want to 
go to school, I will give you your board for what 
you can do out of school hours ; or, for all your 
time, I will give you the wages that I gave 
Bridget, — two dollars a week.” 

A flood of color came to Louis’ face. 

“ To school ! ” he said, with shining eyes. “ Oh, 
it won’t take long to decide which I choose ! I 
never will lose courage again ; I will always think 
that God will bring things right at last. Only 
this morning that school looked as far out of my 
reach as the Kohinoor diamond, and I did want it 
so much ! ” 

“‘When the tale of bricks is doubled, Moses 
comes,”’ Mrs. Marten said. “I have faith in a 
boy who will dig with a spoon when he cannot 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


251 


get a shovel, and I’m glad to help him. But 
about the school, you must see what your mother 
says. She may not agree with you. Stop a min- 
ute,” — for he had caught up his hat. “ Tell your 
mother that I shall want you here nights, to be 
ready for work in the morning, but you can run 
home every evening for a call, if you choose. 
You have done Bridget’s work to-day, and some 
of a man’s besides, and you may like to take your 
pay home. Here it is.” 

He looked at the silver she pushed towards him, 
but did not put out his hand. 

“ Have I earned that ? ” he asked, doubtfully. 

“ Why, certainly, you silly boy ! It isn’t charity, 
if that is what you are afraid of,” she said, laugh- 
ing. “It is your pay for to-day. Didn’t I tell 
you that you had earned it ? ” 

He took it then, with thanks. 

The glow of pleasure was still on his face when he 
reached home, and his mother greeted him with, — 
“ Successful at last, my boy, I’m sure ! ” 

“I knew it before I saw you,” said Freda. 
“You didn’t come slowly, slowly along the road. 
You were walking fast, and I heard you whistling 
‘Yankee Doodle,’ so I knew!” 

“ Yes, I’ve got a place at last,” he said. “ And 
I’ll give you three chances, Freda, to guess what 
I’m doing. If you guess right, you shall have 
these three beautiful silver dimes ; and if you 
don’t, mother shall have them ! ” 


252 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


“ Ah, you know she will get them, either way,” 
Freda reioined. “ Of course I should give them 
to her.” 

“Well, guess,” Louis said. 

“ It must be something very unlikely,” she said, 
considering ; “ something that I should never think 
of.” 

“ Right so far ; go on,” he said. 

“ Something very unlikely,” she repeated. “ You 
are a conductor on the railroad ! ” 

“Not ex-act-ly,” he said. “They don’t pick up 
stray boys in the street for that berth. There’s 
one guess gone ! ” 

“A gardener?” 

“ No ; winter’s coming. Two ! ” 

“ I don’t know whether to go up or down for 
the third guess,” she said. “ You look happy over 
it. I think it must be up. You are a clerk in 
that new bank ! ” 

“ Three times, and out ! ” he said. “ What 
guesses ! The cash is yours, mother. Allow 
me to introduce you to Mrs. Marten’s house- 
maid!” 

He finished with an attempt at a courtesy ; but 
the effect was rather lacking in grace, owing to the 
absence of flowing skirts. Freda looked blank, for 
she. did not understand him, and his mother said, 
“Suppose you explain.” 

He did so, giving a history of the day to two 
most interested auditors. 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


253 


“ You see,” he said, in conclusion, “ there is 
nothing for a boy to do here, just now; and when 
there is anything like a chance, there are ten boys 
after it before one can wink, and the man knows 
all the other nine, while I am only a ‘ pilgrim and 
a »stranger.’ I’m sure I have tried faithfully to 
find a crack somewhere to put myself into. When 
Mrs. Marten refused me, as everybody else had, 
but said she wanted a girl, which was the first 
want I had heard of, I actually wished for half a 
minute that I was a girl, and I do believe I am the 
only boy in the wide world who can say that ! If 
Barnum knew it, he would want me for a curiosity 
for his show ! 

“ But then it suddenly flashed across me, like an 
inspiration, that a boy could do girl’s work if he 
chose. I don’t think Mrs. Marten half believed 
me ; but she let me try, and, thanks to your train- 
ing, I came off with flying colors. I can see that 
both she and Sophy think it is a stupendous joke, 
though. Sophy’s blue eyes are dancing with fun 
whenever she looks at me when I am about my 
work, and I’ve heard a smothered giggle two or 
three times.” 

“ I hate that Sophy ! ” Freda said viciously. 

“ Because she laughs at your venerable brother 
when he mops the floor? Oh, nonsense!” Louis 
answered. “ She is a very pretty girl, I can tell 
you. I guess you would laugh yourself, if you 
saw me. And what do I care ? I would have 


254 


CECIL'S KNIGHT 


taken Dandy’s place between the thills, and drawn 
that ancient buggy — I believe I could travel 
about as fast as he can ! — rather than to come 
home again to live on mother’s earnings. Men 
ought to support their women kind, instead of 
being supported by them.” 

“But you’re nothing but a boy,” said Freda. 
“ You are not a man.” 

“ Going to be,” he returned. “ The principle is 
the same. It’s time I began.” 

“ Oh, I shall take my turn by and by,” Mrs. 
Thorne said. “ But I am proud of my housemaid, 
Louis ! Only, are you sure that you have counted 
the cost ? I have heard of a man who began to 
build a tower, and was not able to finish it. The 
Martens’ laugh is a good-natured one, so it is easy 
to bear. But when those boys come ! — ” 

“Well, when they come, I shall laugh with 
them,” he said cheerily. “ That’s the only way to 
do. What’s the use of being a boy, if you don’t 
know how to take boys, — and their laugh into 
the bargain ? I don’t pretend that I shall like it ; 
but you need not worry about me. I shall come 
out all right, like a duck after a shower. Now 
good night! It’s getting late for a housemaid 
to be out alone, and my young man isn’t here to 
wait upon me home ! Good night, Freda ! When 
those terrible boys come, if they don’t demolish 
me utterly, I will come over and report progress.” 


CECILS KNIGHT . 


255 


CHAPTER XII. 


“ Is there, for honest poverty, 

That hangs his head, and a’ that ; 
The coward slave, we pass him by, 
We dare be poor for a’ that: 

For a’ that, and a’ that, 

Our toil’s obscure, and a’ that, 
The rank is but the guinea’s stamp, 
The man’s the gowd for a’ that.” 


— Robert Burns. 


HE next three days were busy ones. The 



rest of the house was thoroughly cleaned, 
and the whole put in perfect order, and a wonder- 
ful amount of cooking was done, in preparation 
for the arrival of the expected boarders. 

Through it all, Louis lent most efficient aid ; 
and Mrs. Martin took continual comfort in the 
prompt readiness which watched for opportunities 
to render service, and the apt dexterity to which 
nothing seemed to come amiss. 

Much amused though they were at first, both 
she and Sophy speedily became so much accus- 
tomed to the new order of things, that they ceased 
to smile at the novel housemaid, but called for 
and received his service as a matter of course ; 
while they found the bright, intelligent fellow a 
much more pleasant inmate of their kitchen than 
the ignorant girl whose place he more than filled. 


256 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


So the hours went smoothly by ; one thing after 
another was finished, until everything was in readi- 
ness for the newcomers. 

The afternoon of the third day came, and the 
lumbering coach, which plied between the depot 
and the village, and rejoiced in the appropriate 
title of “ The Bandbox,” came creaking and rum- 
bling up the street, and drew up before Mrs. Mar- 
ten’s door. 

Louis was crossing the yard, with a pail of swill 
for the pigs. He stopped under an apple-tree, 
and looked at the newcomers with no little curi- 
osity, and at their proceedings with undisguised 
amusement. 

The body of the coach was empty. Three boys 
were perched on the flat roof, looking as if the 
first jolt of the vehicle would throw them off ; and 
when the horses stopped, they struck up with one 
impulse : — 

“ Here again ! Here again ! From a foreign shore ; 

And oh, it makes my heart rejoice, 

To see this here once more, 

And to know there are goodies galore 
Beyond that door ! ” 

Having finished this inspiring chorus, which 
brought various heads to the neighboring win- 
dows, they came to the ground together with a 
flying leap, which made the coach rock again, and 
gave the impression for an instant that the air was 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


257 


full of arms and legs ; but they all lighted on 
their feet, and began to look after their luggage, 
with a running fire of chaff for the driver, who 
seemed to enjoy it as much as any one. 

44 Easy with that trunk, Jack,” one called out ; 
“ I can’t have my Sunday bonnet smashed ! ” 

“ That’s Burton’s name for his dynamite,” an- 
other explained confidentially ; 44 so you had better 
mind your p * s and g’s, and handle it as if it was 
eggs. We haven’t time to pick up little pieces of 
the trunk, or of you.” 

44 Then give me something soft to drop it on,” 
retorted the laughing driver. “ His head, or yours, 
will do perfectly.” 

44 Can’t spare mine for a cushion,” Burton said. 
44 Mayn’t be much of a head, but its the best in 
the crowd, I fancy. 4 In the kingdom of the blind, 
the one-eyed is king,’ as Aunt Sol would say. 
Give me that umberil, Chester.” 

44 Got all your traps ? ” asked the driver, return- 
ing empty-handed. 

44 Every one ; 4 Great box, little box, band-box, 
bundle,’ ” Burton answered. 44 Many thanks to 
you for your kindness, Mr. Jackson. I’ll recom- 
mend you to my friends. Accept the assurance 
of my most distinguished consideration. Good 
afternoon, sir ! ” 

44 I’ll trouble you for something a little more 
substantial than that, if you please,” the driver 
said, holding out his hand. 44 That ba»k has 
stopped payment!” 


258 


CECILS KNIGHT . 


‘‘People are so mercenary nowadays,” Burton 
sighed. “ Think of a reasonable man’s preferring 
this dirty specie to pure gratitude, fresh from the 
mint ! ” 

“I almost ought to be the one to pay,” the 
driver said while he was dipping in his pockets 
after the change ; “ for a load of you schoolboys is 
about equal to a variety show ; but fun won’t feed 
my horses.” 

Louis listened to the exchange of banter, much 
amused, and curiously examining his future school- 
mates. They went into the house, and he carried 
his pail to the pig-pen, and then went about his 
work at the barn, much enlivened by the merry 
sounds from the house, which occasionally reached 
his ear. 

He was shaking down straw for Dandy’s bed, 
when he became aware that the newcomers had 
invaded his domain. 

A voice exclaimed, “ Hello ! Here’s the sheriff 
in possession ! ” 

He looked around, and one of the boys began 
singing : — 

“ Hame cam my gudeman at, e’en 
And hame cam he ; 

And there he fand a man 
Where a man suld na be. 

“ ‘ How’s this now, my glide wife 
How’s this ? ’ quo’ he, 

J How cam this man here, 

Wi’out the leave o’ me ? ’ ” 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


259 


“ Oli, dry up ! ” said Burton. “ How can the 
fellow speak while you are singing at him? Who 
may you be, sir ? ” 

“‘My name is Norval,’ ” Louis returned, striking 
an attitude, and aiding the effect of his gestures 
with his pitchfork; “‘On the Grampian Hills my 
father feeds his flock.’ ” 

“ That frugal swain ? Oh, then you an old 
acquaintance of mine,” Burton said, with a laugh. 

“ Has Dandy set up an establishment of his 
own while we have been away ? ” the tallest of the 
boys inquired. 

“ On a moderate scale,” Louis answered sedately. 
“ So far, it includes only steward and waiter, valet 
and chambermaid.” 

The questioner’s eyes twinkled. 

“ All united in one, I suppose,” he said. 

“ At your service,” Louis answered. 

“You certainly are the most comprehensive 
fellow I ever heard of,” he said; “except that 
remarkable sailor of the Bab Ballads, who claimed 
to be — 

“ A cook and a captain bold, 

And the mate of the Nancy brig, 

And a bo’sun tight, and a midshipmite, 

And the crew of the captain’s gig ! 

because he had eaten the last of those gentlemen. 
Do you suppose Dandy would introduce his retinue 
to us ? ” 

“ I will act as his deputy,” Louis said. “ I am 
Louis Thorne, at your service.” 


260 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


“ And I am Rex Chester,” rejoined the other. 
“Dandy is an old friend of ours. So we just 
looked in to see how he was prospering. Splendid 
animal, isn’t he ? ” 

“ He won’t take anybody’s dust,” Burton chimed 
in. 

“ Puts Maud S. far in the shade,” drawled the 
third member of the trio. 

“Has he had anything to eat, do you think, 
since we went away ? ” Chester asked, looking 
critically at the horse, who was munching his hay. 

“Just a mouthful now and then,” Louis said. 
“ He’s as thin as a rail, poor fellow ; but I am going 
to fatten him up like a prize pig.” 

“ Don’t you do it ! ” Burton exclaimed hastily, 
with great energy. “ Are you such an innocent as 
that? I shouldn’t have guessed it, from your 
looks. Why, he’s like a singed cat, my dear fel- 
low ; better than he looks. A lot of oats, on the 
sly, just to get the steam up, when yon want him 
to go, is all he needs. Fat him, and he would 
travel like a cow.” 

“I’m sure it would improve his looks,” Louis 
said. “As to his speed — I happened to see Mrs. 
Marten drive him yesterday ! ” 

The others laughed. 

“ You thought he couldn’t keep up with a fu- 
neral, I suppose ! But Dandy is a sensible beast,” 
Chester remarked. “ He always knows who holds 
the lines, and travels accordingly.” 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


261 


“He is like the monkeys, who can talk, but 
won’t, lest they should be put to work,” Burton 
said. “ If Aunt Sol only knew how he can travel, 
— under favorable circumstances, — she would be 
slightly astonished ! ” 

“ He’s bewitched by the fairies, and can only go 
by moonlight,” said Dunham. 

Louis w^as quick-witted, and he understood more 
than they meant he should. 

“ I don’t think it will be good for his health to 
go out in the night air, while I have the care of 
him,” he said significantly, “ unless his mistress 
orders it.” 

The three looked at each other. 

Dunham gave a low whistle, and said : — 

“ Pretty well for a stable boy. One would think 
he owned the establishment ! ” 

Burton remarked that it was a pleasant thing to 
have an expert’s opinion, and Chester observed 
that it was time to go in. They went, taking no 
more notice of Louis. 

“Now, I suppose I’ve got their ill-will in the 
very beginning, and they did seem such jolly fel- 
lows,” he said ruefully. “ I declare, I felt as if a 
breeze from the North Pole blew in here when they 
went out! Well, I couldn’t help it. It had to be 
done. I did want not to understand ; but I know 
it was one of those temptations I was to look out 
for, since Mrs. Marten trusts me, and it is my .busi- 
ness to take care of Dandy. What jolly times 


262 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


they must have had with the old fellow ! I wonder 
if he really can go more than four miles an hour ? 
Why couldn’t they keep their own counsel, and 
then I shouldn’t have had to interfere ? I’m sorry 
to spoil their fun, but I shall keep the key in my 
pocket after this.” 

He rather dreaded meeting them again ; but 
when he went into the house, a little later, he 
was sent two miles away to do an errand, and he 
saw no more of the strangers that night. 

In the early morning he stood at the sink, 
washing potatoes, and half buried in a big apron 
with which Mrs. Marten’s provident care had fur- 
nished him, when Rex Chester passed by the open 
door. 

He stopped short when he caught sight of Louis, 
who nodded to him by way of greeting, and went 
on with his work, with a little heightened color, 
quite conscious that more than one pair of e}^es 
were watching his behavior, and a silent prayer 
for help rose from his heart. 

44 Are you going to fatten Dandy on potatoes ? ” 
Chester asked, recovering from his surprise. 

“ Not exactly,” said Louis. 44 These are to fatten 
bipeds, instead of quadrupeds.” 

He put the potatoes in the oven, washed his 
hands, and began to stir the batter for the morn- 
ing’s buckwheat cakes, while Chester stood still 
and watched him with growing amusement. 

44 What are you staring at ? Go shares in the 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


263 


sight,” said a voice behind him, and Burton peeped 
over his shoulder. 

“ Well, — I — never — did ! ” he said slowly, as 
he took in the scene. 

Then he broke into a laugh, so hearty that it 
was contagious, and for a minute they all laughed 
together, until the room rang with their merriment, 
Louis seeming to enjoy it as much as any one. 

44 I know your kitchen is forbidden ground to 
us, Mrs. Marten ; ” Burton said, when he could 
speak again ; 44 but please don’t shut the door. I 
know you haven’t the heart to refuse to let us 
stand here, and look at this improving spectacle. 
I won’t meddle with anything, but I must see this 
show at any price ! ” 

“ Admission’s free,” Louis said pleasantly. 

44 But I thought you were a groom last night,” 
Chester observed. 

“So I was. But I’m a comprehensive fellow, 
as you said then,” Louis rejoined. “ Many a true 
word is spoken in jest. Just now I’m a cook.” 

He gave a final twirl to his light batter, looking 
at it with a critical eye, and then went round, 
filling the syrup cup, cutting bread, and looking 
after things in general with the utmost composure, 
and a matter-of-course air which amused the ob- 
servers exceedingly. 

“ 4 Oh, we’re ruined by Chinese cheap labor,’ ” 
Burton quoted. 44 You are taking the place of 
John Chinaman, and I mean to call you Ah Sing.” 


264 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


44 All right,” Louis said, peeping into the coffee- 
pot. “ Call me any name that you are most famil- 
iar with! I’m not particular.” 

44 He really doesn’t look like a molly coddle, in 
spite of the big apron,” Chester remarked, in a 
patronizing tone. 

44 Why should he ? ” Sophy put in, in spite of a 
warning glance from her mother, no longer able 
to restrain herself, though Louis only smiled. 44 1 
wish you were half as much of a man as he is, 
Rex Chester ! ” 

44 In a bib and tucker ? ” Burton said teasingly. 

44 Manhood that depends on dress doesn’t 
amount to a row of pins,” she said, with scorn, 
giving a glance of meaning at Burton’s neat at- 
tire. 44 It is only a step to dudes, and I despise 
them ! ” 

44 Come, come ! ” Mrs. Marten said ; 44 keep cool, 
Sophy ! Louis can fight his own battles. 4 A good 
knight is never at a loss for a lance ! ’ And as for 
you, boys, if you want breakfast at any reasonable 
time this morning, you must shut that door — 
from the outside ! ” 

44 You got through that very well, Louis,” she 
said encouragingly, when they were gone. 44 1 
was glad to see that you kept your temper. 4 It 
is the first shower that wets,’ so I hope the worst 
is over. Still, it won’t do to give in to them too 
much. 4 If you let them lay the calf on your 
back, it will not be long before they clap on the 
cow.’ You must make a stand somewhere,” 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


265 


“ Oh, they will soon stop when they find that I 
don’t mind it,” Louis said. 44 Fellows get tired of 
kicking at nothing.” 

Probably they had not satisfied themselves as to 
his not minding it ; for at breakfast, while they 
disposed of quantities of Louis’ excellent cakes, 
they amused themselves by “poking fun at the 
cook,” partly incited thereto by Sophy’s indigna- 
tion, and partly by a boyish desire to see if they 
could make him wince. But he was on his guard, 
and his shield proved able to turn aside all their 
thrusts. 

44 We’ll get a rise out of the new cook yet,” 
Dunham mischievously whispered to Sophy, as 
they responded to the first call of the academy 
bell. 

Louis went a little later, only just in time to 
take his seat before school began. 

Great 'was the surprise of the three at seeing 
him there, so 44 comprehensive ” as to be student 
as well as cook and groom ; and greater still was 
it when they found him, after a slight examina- 
tion, placed in Burton’s class. It was greatest of 
all when Mr. Ray gave his rare and much-prized 
commendation, — 44 Very well done, Thorne,” — at 
the end of his first recitation. It made Louis very 
happy, and he attacked the next lesson with re- 
doubled energy. 

But when the recess came, things were not so 
pleasant. All the others were old acquaintances, 


266 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


and they strolled up and down in pairs or clus- 
tered in little groups, chatting together, or amused 
themselves with games ; while he stood alone, and 
felt himself a stranger among them, and longed 
for Harry. 

Though no one spoke to him, and all seemed to 
be busy with their own affairs, he was painfully 
conscious of the curious eyes that scanned his 
appearance, which was so different from that of 
the others, and he was glad to return to his books, 
and forget himself in study. 

He hurried home, as soon as school was dis- 
missed, and fell to work, answering Mrs. Marten’s 
kind inquiry of how things had gone, with only a 
brief “Pretty well.” He would have scorned a 
hint that he was homesick, but it was not the less 
true. 

When he went back in the afternoon, it became 
evident that his schoolmates had found out who 
he was. The neglect of the morning was pleas- 
ant, compared with their too assiduous attention 
now. They all gathered round him at recess, 
apparently bent on proving the truth of Mrs. 
Marten’s remark that “boys were unfeeling creat- 
ures sometimes.” 

Louis was no typical hero, superior to all an- 
noyances, and would have much preferred meeting 
his new friends on equal terms. From the experi- 
ence of the morning he could guess what was 
coming : he knew that not only the comfort of his 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


267 


school life was at stake, but that if he lost his 
temper, it would tell against his future influence 
as a Christian. He looked well to the joints of 
his armor, and braced himself to meet the emer- 
gency. 

“ Oh, Ah Sin, will you take in our washing ? 
Allee washee, you know ? ” one fellow asked. 

He happened to be almost the only untidy boy 
in school. Louis looked at him and saw his 
chance. 

“ I’m sure some one ought,” he said. “ I don’t 
wonder that you are interested about it ! ” 

And Smith was silenced. 

“Where’s Fung Wing’s pigtail?” called out 
another. 

Louis raised his hat, with a bow, and ran his 
fingers through his short, thick curls, pretend- 
ing great surprise at the absence of the Chinese 
appendage. 

“ Mother Hubbard has lost her dog ! ” said an- 
other. 

“ There seems to be plenty of puppies about 
to choose another from ! ” he returned, glancing 
around. 

“ Really, our Polly Ann seems to be a match for 
you all,” Burton remarked. “ One down, t’other 
come on.” 

“ Did you ever hear what the pollywog said to 
the tree-toad when he went a-eourting?” Louis 
asked. 


268 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


“ Her small eyes flashed, she swelled until 
She looked almost a frog ; 

‘ How dare you call me, sir,’ she said, 

‘Your precious Polly Wo g? 

“ ‘ Why, one would think your life was spent 
In some low, muddy bog ; 

I’d have you know, to strange young toads 
My name’s Miss Mary Wog ! ’ ” 

Great applause followed the quotation. “ One 
wild, wild laugh that tree-toad gave,,” but the boys 
surpassed him. 

44 The moral of which is, that I, being 4 a strange 
young toad,’ am not to call him Polly Ann. I told 
you he was cute ! ” Burton said, with the air of a 
proprietor. 

Rex Chester, with one or two of the other sen- 
iors, stood by, listening to the exchange of school- 
boy chaff. It went on for several minutes. Every 
answer was given with a smile, and greeted with a 
laugh. The boys found the stranger amusing, 
and he was rapidly making his way in their good 
graces. 

44 Come,” he said presently, “ you have found 
me a new name for every day of the week. I’m 
equal to the English princes for that. I shall 
have to establish a price-list, if this thing goes 
on.” 

44 What do you mean ? ” Dunham asked. 

“Well,” he said, 44 1 read an account the other 
day, of a man who used to call his wife all sorts 


269 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 

of names when he got provoked. She did not 
mind it any more than I do, since it pleased him ; 
but she got tired of it after a while. So she made 
out a price-list for names ; and one day when he 
happened to be in good humor, she coaxed him to 
agree to it. Every time he called her a ‘ lazy old 
thing,’ he was to pay her five cents; ‘Cross- 
patch ’ was ten cents ; ‘ Old waggle-tongue ’ was 
twenty ; and ‘ Ugly old hen ’ was fifty.” 

How the boys laughed ! “ Old waggle-tongue ” 

seemed especially to take their fancy. 

“ That woman is said to be in a fair way to 
make her fortune,” Louis went on, when he could 
be heard again ; “ and if I could follow suit, I might 
open a bank account ; but I’m afraid she took out 
a patent on her plan.” 

“Never mind, my dear Louisa,” Chester said; 
“you are quite clever enough to get up one of 
your own.” 

“ On the contrary,” he replied, “ I’m too stupid 
even to see what interests you so much. Are you 
always so attentive to new scholars ? ” 

“ You’re doing girls’ work,” exclaimed half a 
dozen. 

“ Don’t you like girls ? ” he inquired, with a 
pretence of surprised simplicity that brought 
another shout. 

“ Girls are well enough in their way ; but we 
don’t do their work,” Dunham said, with mascu- 
line contempt. “ Those Woman’s Rights women 


2T0 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


want to do ours ; but I never heard of a man who 
wanted to meddle with theirs, so you are a curi- 
osity.” 

“ For example ? ” Louis asked. 

“Well, for example, blacking stoves,” Dunham 
said, seizing on the last thing he had seen Louis 
doing. 

“ How about the stove-dealers ? ” said Louis. 
“Do they hire girls to put the shine on their 
goods ? ” 

“Sweeping rooms,” said Burton. 

“ I saw that fancy clerk at Clifford’s sweeping 
out the store this morning,” Louis returned. “ He 
didn’t seem to think any less of himself when he 
had finished.” 

Burton was the first to laugh. The “fancy 
clerk” was his brother, though Louis was not 
aware of it. 

“Washing, then,” Peters suggested. 

“ I haven’t tried that yet,” Louis said ; “ but I 
should be ashamed if I couldn’t do it, if a girl can. 
Besides, who washes for sailors? And on land, 
do women run all the laundries ? Don’t you re- 
member how that dandy Mantalini, in “ Nicholas 
Nickleby,” turned the mangle ? To be sure, I 
don’t know what that is, only I know it had some- 
thing to do with washing or ironing.” 

“ I believe he was ashamed to be seen,” Chester 
hinted. “ Hid under the bed, didn’t he ? ” 

“ Of course,” Louis rejoined promptly. “ Such 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


271 


a cad would be ashamed. A man wouldn’t! I 
don’t propose to do any work I’m ashamed of.” 

“But cooking is girl’s work, even if the buck- 
wheats are tiptop,” Burton asserted. 

“Is that so?” Louis asked. “Do you know 
what salary the head cook at the Parker House 
gets? Four times as much as our minister. And 
she’s a man ! I read the other day that Vander- 
bilt is going to pay his new cook ten thousand 
dollars a year. And she’s a man ! I guess any of 
you would be glad to mix bread and fry buck- 
wheats at that rate. Even when you do it for 
nothing, who doesn’t like to cook when he gets a 
chance to camp out? It’s half the fun.” 

“ Well, there’s sewing,” Peters said trium- 
phantly. “ Men don’t do that.” 

“ I can’t sew,” Louis said, “ more than to put on 
a button ; it’s convenient to do that sometimes, 
But any tailor can. Put nine of him together, 
and he makes a man ! ” 

There was another laugh. 

“This fellow may be stupid,” said Brewer. 
“ He says he is, and he ought to know. But I don’t 
see it. It seems to me that he has made out his 
case.” 

“ All the same,” Louis remarked, “ I don’t like 
doing girls’ work any better than you would, 
though I can do it, and don’t intend to be laughed 
out of it. For I’m bound to have an education. 
I’ve got to earn it for myself, or else let my mother 


272 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


earn it for me, which I couldn’t stand. But I’ll 
do any honest work, whether it is blacking boots, 
or frying buckwheats, to get it. One is as honora- 
ble as the other, for anything that I can see, though 
I don’t mean to spend my life doing either. But 
while I do girls’ work, I mean to do it as well as a 
girl. When I make buckwheats, they are going 
to be good. 

“ If I was a cobbler, it should be my pride 
The best of all cobblers to be ; 

If I were a tinker, no tinker beside 
Should mend a tin saucepan like me. 

“ I was glad enough to get a place at Mrs. Mar- 
ten’s, and I shall stick to it until I find something 
better. And I don’t believe it will hinder my 
being President of these United States ! ” 

“ You’re a brick!” Rex Chester said emphat- 
ically. 44 Three cheers for Lady Louisa, boys ! ” 
The cheers were given with a will. The admira- 
tion of 44 pluck,” which is a part of every boy’s 
nature, and the good feeling, which lies in the 
depth of every boy’s heart, found expression in 
them. Chester’s new name for him found favor 
with them also. The odd contrast between the 
aristocratic title and the curly-headed fellow, 
frank and merry in his patched and faded suit, 
took their fancy ; but its use was kindly, and had 
no sting. 

Mrs. Marten had no occasion to ask, that night, 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


273 


how things were going. Louis’ sparkling eyes 
and ready laugh told their own tale. But Bur- 
ton gave an account of the whole affair, with the 
addition of some explanatory remarks, to the 
delighted Sophy, winding up with, — 

“I believe he’s a trump, after all, though I 
did think once of pinning a dish-cloth on his 
jacket ! ” 

“Now, Jim, if you begin to plague him, I’ll 
never make you another cream-cake,” Sophy said 
severely. 

“ Oh, you never would be so cruel,” he rejoined, 
“when you know how much I like them! It is 
ever so long since I had any. You’ll make some 
to-morrow, I’m sure,” he added coaxingly. 

“Not the shadow of one,” she answered, with 
decision. “ I’ll keep them for a reward of merit, 
and see how you behave, before I make either 
promises or cakes.” 

“Oh, I’ll behave like an angel,” he promised. 
“ Especially as I don’t succeed very well in stir- 
ring Louis up, he takes everything so coolly. He 
is up and coming every time, and meets one half- 
way. I should like to catch him napping, and see 
him really bothered for once ! ” 

Burton’s ideas of angelic behavior were probably 
peculiar, for he did not think his promise obliged 
him to give up a plan he had formed for the 
night. 

“Lady Louisa will hold his tongue about it, 


274 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


you’ll see,” he said to Dunham; “and we shall 
have both the cakes and the fun.” 

If he could have seen Louis’ blank face the 
next morning, and the flash of anger which fol- 
lowed his surprise, the “ fun ” would have been 
doubled. 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


275 


CHAPTER XIII. 


“ * She is won ! We are gone, over bank, bush, and scaur ; 
They’ll have fleet steeds that follow ! ’ quoth young 


Lochinvar.” 


— Sir Walter Scott. 


OOR Louis ! He had risen early, hoping to 



get his out-door work done in season to 
secure a little time to study, before Mrs. Marten 
was ready for his help indoors. 

He went first to take care of Dandy. He put 
his hand in his pocket for the key, as he went 
through the connecting woodshed, but he could 
not find it. Then he saw that the door was open, 
and the key was in the lock. 

“ How could I be so careless ? ” he thought. 
“ And yet I seem to remember locking it. 1 
should say I had done it, if the door itself did not 
contradict me. What would Mrs. Marten say if 
she knew it ? ” 

Another step brought him in sight of Dandy. 
He was standing in his stall, with drooping head, 
and rough, wet hair, a forlorn-looking creature, 
too tired even to give his usual whinny of wel- 
come, when Louis approached. The buggy, which 
had been thoroughly washed the night before, was 
covered with mud. The harness lay in a heap on 
the floor. 


276 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


Louis needed no explanation. It was plain 
enough that the missing key had mysteriously 
found its way from his pocket to the door, and 
there had been a moonlight ride. His first 
thought was an angry one. Then he laughed. 
“ That comes of sleeping so like a top,” he said. 
“ They might have carried me off, as well as the 
key, without my missing myself till morning ! I’ll 
say nothing about it, but after this lesson, I’ll lock 
my door. They seem to have had the fun, and 
Dandy and I take the work.” 

Rather ruefully he set about the task of groom- 
ing Dandy. By the time he was in order again, 
and the buggy washed once more, all the time he 
had counted on for study was gone, and Mrs. Mar- 
ten met him with a rebuke for being late. 

Burton gave him an expressive wink, when he 
came into the breakfast room, and Dunham looked 
curiously at him; but Louis’ face told no tales. 
For anything that appeared to the contrary, he 
had noticed nothing unusual. 

He said nothing about it, even when Burton 
and Dunham strolled into the barn at night, and 
began an easy chat upon the events of the day at 
school; referring to an extra hard lesson which 
Mr. Ray had given out, and ending with an offer 
to help him about his work, that he might the 
sooner finish it, and be free to study. 

“ Here, I’ll fill your chip-basket,” Dunham said. 
“And I’ll give Dandy his supper,” Burton added, 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


277 


“while you make his bed. Make him a good 
one ! ” 

“ Easy with the oats there ! ” Louis called out, 
as he heard them raining down. “ Give him only 
that box full. He isn’t used to them, and they 
will go to his head.” 

“They would do his feet more good,” Burton 
responded, slyly filling the box again and emptying 
it. Then he called out, “This box full, did you 
say ? I suppose you heap it ? I shall. Do as you 
would be done by, if you were a horse. Tt is my 
birthday, — or somebody’s, — and the poor beast 
shall have ten extra oats to remember it by. 
What comes next ? ” 

“ He must think I have neither ears nor wits,” 
thought Louis ; “ but ‘ he laughs best who laughs 
last,’ as Mrs. Marten would say.” 

With such efficient help, the chores for the 
night were soon done, and the two volunteer aids 
looked on, while Louis fastened the big barn doors, 
and locked the one leading into the shed, putting 
the key into his pocket. 

“ 4 Fast bind, fast find,’ ” Dunham remarked 
gravely. 

Louis bit his lip, and went into the house. 

He took good care to lock the door of his room 
that night ; and though he went to bed, yet, taking 
Dandy’s extra oats in connection with the fact 
that it was somebody’s birthday, he thought it 
would be prudent not to go to sleep. 


278 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


“ If they should happen to call to-night, I would 
like to know it,” he said. “ I suppose Burton 
thought I didn’t see him wink to Dunham when 
I put the key in my pocket.” 

His intentions were excellent ; but it is not an 
easy thing for a healthy boy, after a long day’s 
work, to lie awake at night, in darkness and 
silence, and his audible breathing soon gave token 
that sleep had conquered him. 

Nearly an hour went by ; still he slept, and 
nothing happened. Silence reigned in the house. 

Then there were stealthy steps outside his door, 
and the handle was softly turned. There was a 
little laugh, and a few whispered words ; a bit of 
wire was put into the keyhole and skilfully manip- 
ulated ; a figure with stockinged feet crept softly 
into the room, found what it sought by the light 
of the rising moon, and vanished again ; and still 
Louis slept the unbroken sleep of boyhood. There 
was another smothered laugh, and then all was 
still again. 

Ten minutes later Louis suddenly waked. He 
was bewildered at first, for waking in the night 
was a new experience to him ; but he heard again 
the noise which had startled him from sleep, and 
he sprang to the window. 

Yes ; the barn doors, which he had so carefully 
closed and fastened, were certainly open! He 
jumped into his clothes, and ran to the door. It 
was still locked, but — the key was on the other 
side ! 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


279 


“ They reckon without their host, if they think 
that will keep me here ! ” he said scornfully. 

The next minute he had softly opened his win- 
dow, swung himself out, and lightly dropped on 
the roof of the woodshed below, along which he 
ran like a cat, thanks to his unshod feet. 

But with all his haste, he was too late. They 
were just driving out of the yard, keeping on the 
grass to avoid noise. They w§re going slowly, and 
he slid down the lightning rod, and ran after 
them, calling to them as he ran. 

It was not a very wise proceeding, as he re- 
flected afterward ; for naturally they would not 
choose to hear or to stop. 

But he was only in time to hear a mocking 
laugh, and to see Dandy put to his speed, as soon 
as they were fairly out of the yard. Horse, buggy, 
and boys disappeared with a swiftness of which he 
had never supposed Dandy’s four legs capable. He 
conceived a new respect for him. He watched 
them out of sight ; and then, feeling outwitted and 
beaten, went back to the barn, crestfallen enough. 

There stood, grim and terrible — Mrs. Marten ! 

She was only half-dressed, not having stopped 
to complete her toilet, and had covered deficien- 
cies with a great blanket wrapped around her tall 
figure, like the toga of an ancient Roman. A 
handkerchief was tied about her head, and an im- 
mense frilled nightcap crowned the whole. 

She was very angry, and, like most angry 


280 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


people, was very unreasonable. She thought she 
understood the whole thing, and therefore refused 
to listen to Louis, who cowered before the storm 
of her indignation, as if he had really been the 
culprit she thought him. 

“ None so deaf as those who won’t hear,” she 
said. “ So you couldn’t get them to stop for you, 
and you lost your ride! Honor among thieves 
isn’t worth much, you see.” 

This explanation of his chase confounded Louis. 

“ I didn’t — ” he began, but she silenced him. 

“ Don’t make the matter worse by lying about 
it,” she said sharply. “ 4 He that does amiss never 
lacks excuse.’ You ‘didn’t’! What brings you 
here, then, out of your bed at this time of night ? 
‘ It takes a good many shovelfuls of earth to bury 
the truth.’ The facts speak for themselves. No; 
you need not say a word. ‘ He that excuses 
himself accuses himself.’ It’s all my own fault 
for trusting a boy whom I knew nothing about. 
‘They wanted a keeper for the pigeon-house, 
and gave the keys to the cat.’ But I was old 
enough to know better, and I have only myself 
to thank.” 

“ Do let me speak ! ” Louis entreated. “ I never 
thought of going with them. I was trying — ” 

“ Oh, no ! ” she interrupted, “ of course not ! 
You seem to forget that I saw you, with my own 
eyes, trying to overtake them, and calling to them 
to wait for you. Besides, you had the key ; and 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


281 


Dandy was in your charge. Perhaps you can tell 
me how they could get him without your help ? 
k He who holds the ladder is as bad as the burglar.’ 
I may thank the toothache, that kept me awake, 
for knowing anything about your goings-on. 4 It’s 
an ill wind that blows nobody any good.’ ” 

“ But do believe me ! ” Louis implored again. 
“ Only listen a minute ! ” 

It was in vain. She would not hear him. 

“There’s no use talking,” she said decisively. 
“Lock up the barn and bring the key to me. 
When those young scamps come back, they may 
ask me for it. As for you, you may go back to 
bed, and in the morning you can go home. I 
don’t need you any longer. 4 When the thief has 
no opportunity for stealing, he considers himself 
an honest man ; ’ but I have found you out now. 
I will say that you did very well until those boys 
came,” she said, softening a little ; “ but 4 he that 
goes with wolves soon learns to howl,’ and Burton 
would lead George Washington himself into mis- 
chief. Come, be quick ! Night air isn’t good for 
jumping toothache.” 

By this time Louis was angry, in his turn. He 
would not try again to justify himself ; but locked 
the barn, gave her the key, and went to his room 
without another word. 

There his obedience ended. Instead of going 
to bed, he finished dressing ; said good by to the 
house which had given him a pleasant home, and 


282 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


was presently in the street, feeling as if he was 
cast adrift upon the world again. 

He knew how to gain admittance to his mother’s 
cottage without disturbing her. 

“Windows take the place of doors, to-night. 
Out of one, and in at another,” he said, as he 
made good his entrance through one. 

He threw himself upon his bed, without undress- 
ing, and after a time forgot his trouble in sleep. 

It was after one o’clock before Dandy came 
home. He stopped before the closed barn doors 
and whinnied loudly for admission. Getting no 
response, he repeated his call, and his mistress 
answered it. She appeared upon the scene, fully 
prepared to pour the full torrent of her wrath 
upon Burton and Dunham, but only innocent 
Dandy was there to take it. 

He looked as if he had been driven hard, but 
that did not surprise her. He had come back 
alone, as if he had been off on an independent 
expedition. But there was no other sign of an 
accident, and she did not feel uneasy. She called 
to Louis to come and unharness him. But no 
Louis answered. She found only his empty room, 
and had to play groom herself, which did not 
improve the prospect for the delinquents. 

Mrs. Thorne and Freda had nearly finished their 
breakfast the next morning, when Louis walked 
into the room, for his wakeful night had made him 
sleep late. His breakfast was deferred until he 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


288 


had told his story. Freda gave unbounded sym- 
pathy; but he watched his mother’s face with a 
little anxiety in his own. 

“ So you see I’m afloat again,” he finished. “ I 
must hunt up another place, and school will have 
to wait awhile.” 

“ Not at all,” his mother said. “ You must have 
a little patience. Mrs. Marten was angry about 
her horse, and nervous from her toothache, and 
spoke hastily ; but she will find out the truth and 
do you justice.” 

“ Even if she does,” Louis said, in dismay, “ I 
hope you don’t mean that I should go back ! I 
don’t think I could do that after such treatment.” 

“ 4 Till seventy times seven,’ ” she quoted softly. 

Louis was silent. He knew he ought to forgive, 
but he was not ready. 

“Her treatment of you would not have been 
very unreasonable, would it, if you had really 
done what she thought you had?” his mother 
asked. “Look at it from her side. She will find 
out her mistake. Those boys will acquit you at 
once when they come back. Truth has a way of 
coming to light sooner or later.” 

“ Then I wish it would hurry,” he said ; “ but I 
think she might have trusted me.” 

“ Against her own eyes ? ” 

“ She might have let me explain what she saw, 
but she wouldn’t hear a word,” he said resentfully. 
“ I shouldn’t care what she did, only I hate to lose 


284 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


my place in my classes. I was just beginning to 
feel settled in school.” 

“ Go there as usual,” Mrs. Thorne advised. “ If 
Mrs. Marten does not take you back, — though I 
think she will, — we can manage for a few days, 
until we see what comes next. Meantime, you 
must go to school, do your best, and be patient.” 

“And suppose Mrs. Marten’s version of the 
story gets out?” he objected. “I don’t mind 
being laughed at a little, but I can’t stand false 
accusations.” 

“Easier to bear than true ones, I should think,” 
his mother replied. “ Since you know they are 
false, don’t mind them. There’s the school bell 
ringing now.” 

Louis had been smarting under a sense of injus- 
tice ; but this common-sense view of the matter 
appealed to his reason, and he went to school, as 
she advised. 

Burton and Dunham were not there. The 
weather had changed. It was raining fast; and 
when recess came, he stayed at his desk. There 
Rex Chester presently came to him. 

“ Look here, young man,” he said, “ Mrs. Marten 
wants to see you.” 

“What for? Did she leave anything unsaid last 
night ? ” Louis inquired rather stiffly. 

It seemed to amuse Chester. 

“ Oh, come, Lady Louisa,” he said, with a laugh, 
“ you mustn’t stand too much on your dignity. 


CECILS KNIGHT . 


285 


It’s a graceful thing to meet apologies half-way, 
especially when it is good Aunt Solomon who has 
to eat the humble pie. After all, her mistake 
wasn’t so strange. What else could she think?” 

“ She could have let me speak,” Louis said. 

“ Oh, well, she’s a woman, and you must make 
allowances,” Chester said indulgently, from the 
height of his eighteen years. “Women never 
stop to reason things out. They just jump at 
conclusions, and you can’t expect them to always 
land safely on both feet. Besides, you must allow 
something for that toothache. But you don’t know 
what you lost by running home.” 

“I know what I had before I went,” Louis said 
grimly. 

Chester only laughed again, and went on with 
his story. 

“We had a tempest in a teapot this morning, 
I can tell you,” he said. “ It seems those fellows 
drove over to Porter’s last night, with a few 
others, to celebrate* Burton’s birthday. They left 
Dandy unhitched when they went in, not meaning 
to stay long ; and he stands well enough when he 
hasn’t been keyed up to concert-pitch. 

“ But they stayed longer than they intended ; 
and Dandy, wise fellow, thought it was quite time 
for decent people to be in bed, so he turned about, 
and made tracks for his own stable. 

“ Naturally, when they came out, no Dandy was 
there. They started after him, guessing what had 


286 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


happened, but yet in blissful uncertainty whether 
he had really gone home or had been stolen ; and 
it ended in their walking the whole eight miles, 
with Mrs. Marten’s wrath in view at the end of 
their walk to encourage them ! 

“ It began to rain, too ; came down in torrents ; 
and they were thoroughly drenched. You never 
saw two more forlorn -looking objects ; splashed 
with mud, so tired that they could hardly put one 
foot before the other, and dripping like drowned 
rats. 

“ They arrived while we were at breakfast, so we 
watched them come up the road ; and then Mrs. 
Marten just ‘went for them.’ The lecture you 
had was a mild specimen ; but now she had been 
bottling up her anger all night, and she just pulled 
out the cork ! It foamed up like soda ! 

“She couldn’t help pitying them either, good 
soul that she is, because they were so miserable, and 
the combination was comical enough. She scolded, 
and rubbed, and threatened, and blanketed, and 
proverbed, and herb-teaed them, until their lives 
were a burden to them. You’ll see how meek 
they are ! Jim said they meant to pick the lock 
of the barn door if they could not get the key 
easily, but he couldn’t resist the temptation to 
lock you in and show you that other people were 
as smart as you. I suppose you got out over the 
shed?” 

Louis nodded. 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


287 


44 But they cleared yon completely, old fellow,” 
Chester said ; “ and I’m under orders to bring you 
home with me this noon.” 

“ I’ll see,” was all Louis would say. 

“ Till seventy times seven,” something seemed 
to whisper to him. He knew that he ought to 
forgive even an intentional injury ; much more 
one that was only the result of a mistake. But 
he had felt deeply hurt, as well as very angry, and 
forgiveness was not easy. His eyes were on his 
book, but his mind was busy recalling Mrs. Mar- 
ten’s sharp words and his curt dismissal, and the 
more he thought of it, the more indignant he felt. 
Still, through it all, “ Till seventy times seven ” 
kept presenting itself, and then there occurred to 
him the words Miss Cecil had spoken about temp- 
tation coming always in some shape for which he 
was not looking. 

“ This is Satan again, I’m sure ! ” he said to 
himself. “ What am I thinking of ? Anybody who 
didn’t even pretend to be a Christian would be 
ashamed not to forgive and forget a blunder, es- 
pecially when it was owned up, — and look at me ! 
How can I ask to be forgiven when I won’t for- 
give? I didn’t know that I was so revengeful. 
And Mrs. Marten has been so good to me, too ! 
Miss Cecil’s knight has been caught napping this 
time, without his armor on.” 

A prayer for forgiveness rose from his heart, 
and then he turned happily to the duty of the 


288 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


hour. When noon came, he and Chester walked 
home together. Mrs. Marten welcomed him cor- 
dially, though with a little embarrassment, and 
began to apologize; but he felt much more un- 
comfortable than when he was scolded, and took 
his turn in refusing to listen. 

“If you can trust me,” he said, with a little 
pride, “that’s all that need be said. It was only a 
mistake, and the sooner it is forgotten, the better.” 

“ 4 Bought wit is best,’ ” she said. “ Of course I 
trust you. 4 One who has been bitten by a serpent 
is afraid of a rope,’ or I should have known better ; 
but I’ll promise to listen to you next time, what- 
ever happens, — if I haven’t a toothache driving 
me out of my senses.” 

So peace was restored, and Louis dropped con- 
tentedly into his old place again. 

The two culprits appeared, as Chester had said, 
very meek and subdued. After the excitement of 
the affair was over, Mrs. Marten had talked seri- 
ously with them. 

She explained to them that it was beginning to 
be understood that laws were made for students 
as well as for other people. The courts called 
breaking into barns and taking away teams by a 
harsher name than 44 fun.” Innocent fun was a 
good thing ; as they l*iew, she never objected to 
that; but fun that trespassed on the rights of 
others, like carrying off gates, or changing business 
signs, or stealing horses, was never innocent. 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


289 


The culprits winced a little as she named some 
of their well-known pranks ; but on the whole they 
took it well, and her grave, earnest words made 
the impression that her angry scolding had failed 
to make. They asked forgiveness very humbly, 
and protested, with the utmost sincerity, that they 
would never meddle again with Dandy. 

u In fact,” Burton said, with a smile, “I don’t 
think I shall ever want to see him again ! It 
won’t be safe for any one to say 4 horse ’ to me for 
one while ! ” 

44 But I do think you ought to know how Dandy 
can go, Mrs. Marten,” Dunham interposed, from 
an impulse of benevolence. 44 Nobody would be- 
lieve it, who only saw him crawling round town, 
at the rate of two miles an hour ; but he really is 
a regular clipper! When he gets waked up, he 
makes the sparks fly, I can tell you! We raced 
with Adams and Green last night, and beat them 
out of sight and hearing, and Dandy didn’t half 
try, either. He is a real racer, and it is beautiful 
to see him go ! ” 

44 1 dare say,” Mrs. Marten answered dryly. 
44 I’ve seen him often enough, for my husband 
used to like to put him to his £peed. I don’t 
drive slowly because he can’t go fast, but because 
I prefer it. 4 He who can’t do a thing, always 
wants to do it; he who can, is content.’ When I 
want Dandy to race, I’ll mention it.” 

At which the boys subsided, and only marvelled 


290 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


at her queer fancy for creeping when she might 

fly- 

The chief result of the affair was to make 
Louis’ life pleasanter in various ways. It brought 
him to Chester’s notice, who soon became intimate 
with him, and they were generally together when- 
ever Louis’ duties would permit. 

Burton and Dunham, too, made overtures of 
friendship in their own way ; but though Louis 
was a thorough boy, and enjoyed a frolic as much 
as any one, their pranks were not of a kind that 
he wanted to share, even if he had time to spare 
for them. 

He met them one day, at some distance from 
home, smoking cigars. They walked with an air 
as if they felt themselves taking a long step 
towards manhood, and evidently expected to 
make an impression upon Louis. 

“ Have a weed, Lady Lou ? ” Dunham asked, 
offering a cigar. 

“ 1 don’t smoke,” Louis said shortly. 

“ It’s very easy to learn,” Burton said, holding 
his cigar airily between two fingers, while he 
watched the light wreaths of smoke. 

“No good when learned, and very hard to un- 
learn,” Louis rejoined, “if old smokers tell the 
truth. Besides, even if I wanted to turn myself 
into a walking chimney, the academy rules for- 
bid it.” 

“Lady Louisa is afraid, I guess!” Dunham 
sneered. 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


291 


“ Exactly,” Louis assented cheerfully. “ Afraid, 
in the first place, of doing wrong by breaking 
rules ; afraid, in the second place, of putting on 
chains which won’t be so easily taken off by and 
by. I prefer to be a free man.” 

“ Pooh ! The chains are lighter than air,” Bur- 
ton said, sending up a fresh cloud. 

“Just now they may be,” Louis agreed. “In 
fact, I have a notion that you are more comfor- 
table, at present, with that thing out of your mouth 
than in it ! But ask any old smoker how easily 
he could give up his tobacco. Ask him, too, 
whether he would recommend you to learn to 
smoke.” 

“Fancy me going round asking people to say 
their catechism ! ” Burton laughed. 

“ My mother says — ,” Louis began, but Dunham 
interrupted him. 

“ Ah-h ! ” he drawled. “ Your ma ? Oh-h-h ! ” 

“ Apparently you don’t care for your mother, or 
for what she says,” Louis answered, not at all dis- 
turbed. “ Perhaps I shouldn’t. There’s a differ- 
ence in mothers ! But I care for mine. What 
she doesn’t know about some things isn’t worth 
knowing. And I promised her, long ago, that I 
would never smoke. She says it is bad for a boy’s 
pocket, and health, and brain ; and if he wants to 
make the most of himself, and be the kind of man 
he ought to be, he will let tobacco alone. I be- 
lieve she is right, and you won’t catch me smok- 


292 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


ing. I know what it leads to,” he added, as to 
himself. 

“ If yon think my mother isn’t as good as yours, 
any day — ,” Dunham began, angrily. 

“ Oh, keep cool ! ” Burton interposed. “ You 
began it. As to Lady Louisa, he’s too good for 
this wicked world. We’ve had quite an anti- 
tobacco lecture, and I propose a vote of thanks 
to the distinguished lecturer. All those in favor 
will say Aye ! ” 

Louis laughed. Dunham was sulkily silent ; but 
an unexpected, though familiar voice, behind them 
responded, “ Aye ! ” 


ter - 




CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


293 


CHAPTER XIV. 


“ I am glad a task to me is given 
To labor at, day by day, 

For it brings me health, and strength, and hope, 
And I cheerfully learn to say, 

‘ Head, you may think ; Heart, you may feel ; 
But Hand, you shall work alway ! * ” 


Miss L. M. Alcott. 



IHEY turned quickly, and tried to conceal the 


cigars, whose tell-tale odor would not be con- 
cealed. There stood the man whom, under the 
circumstances, they most objected to meeting, — 
the principal of the academy. 

“The smoke witnesses against you,” he said. 
“ It is like the Afrite of the Eastern story, who 
could not be compressed into the bottle again, 
when he had once escaped. You are literally con- 
demned out of your own mouths. You know the 
rule. You will come to my room to-morrow morn- 
ing. Meantime, I confiscate the cigars.” 

He held out his hand, and they reluctantly 
surrendered their treasures and emptied their 
pockets. They were all standing on the bridge, 
and he walked to the railing and dropped the 
cigars into the water. 

“ I hope they won’t poison the fishes,” he said. 

He took no more notice of the discomfited pair, 


294 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


whose faces would have been a prize to a photog- 
rapher, but told Louis he would walk with him, 
as he had business to speak of. 

He was curious to know what the business could 
be ; but Mr. Ray seemed in no haste to reach it. 
He asked about his studies, and commended his 
progress, and told of others who had gained a 
liberal education by their own efforts, until Louis 
nearly forgot his curiosity in the interest excited 
by his teacher’s talk. 

“ In our country any boy can get an education 
by his own efforts, if he is willing to pay the 
price,” Mr. Ray said. “He must consent to do 
without a good many things in which boys find 
pleasure. He must improve his time ; he can’t 
spend it in base ball or lawn tennis. He must 
save the money he earns ; he can’t spend it in 
dress or for amusements. He must bend the 
energy of his mind to his studies ; he can’t 
weaken it with dime novels. He must make 
many sacrifices, and do many things which would 
seem impossible to boys whose fathers supply 
them with funds. But — it pays ! I know that, 
for I tried it.” 

“You?” Louis said, in surprise. 

“ I earned every cent for my education,” Mr. 
Ray answered, “ which accounts for my interest 
in your success. I was even poorer than you, for 
I had lost my mother. You see the thing can be 
done. Even your hindrances may help you. The 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


295 


boy who works six hours and studies three is 
more likely to make a strong, vigorous man, both 
physically and mentally, than the one who studies 
nine hours.” 

“ I see what you mean,” Louis said. “ It keeps 
things balanced better. And one’s mind must 
work harder while it does work, and stick close to 
business during the three hours, instead of taking 
it easy through nine.” 

“I only wanted to remind you of the advan- 
tages in the disadvantages,” Mr. Kay said. “ You 
will find them as you go on. But about my busi- 
ness with you. You know I am one of the trus- 
tees of our church. Our sexton has resigned. If 
you would like to take his place, I can get it for 
you. We pay two dollars a week, and it would 
not take very much of your time.” 

“ Oh, thank you ! I should like it very much,” 
Louis said regretfully. “ But my time doesn't 
belong to me. Out of school hours, it is Mrs. 
Marten’s.” 

“ I have spoken to her,” Mr. Ray rejoined, “ and 
she is perfectly willing that you should have what 
time you need for this. You can talk it over with 
her and your mother, and let me know your de- 
cision to-morrow. Good night.” 

He stopped to speak to a friend ; and Louis 
went on his way, feeling as if he trod on air. He 
was very grateful to Mr. Ray for the sympathy he 
had shown, and the encouragement he had given 
him. 


296 


CECILS KNIGHT . 


“If he could do that, I can,” he said, uncon- 
sciously straightening himself a little. “ He knew 
just the kind of help I wanted too. I don’t want 
charity ; but if I can only get work, and get paid 
for it, I won’t thank the king for calling me 
cousin ! ” 

The weekly two dollars of the sexton loomed 
large in his eyes. Like the milkmaid of the fable, 
he began to reckon how long it would take him 
to earn a new suit. Thanks to long experience in 
the art, his mother could “ gar auld cla’es luik a’ 
maist as weel as new ” ; but there is a limit to 
that process, and it had long ago been reached. 
When the school-going became possible, she had 
said anxiously : — 

“But how can we get new clothes for you, 
Louis?” 

“ That’s easily settled,” he had answered. “We 
are not to get them at all. I fought that battle 
long ago. We haven’t the cash. Dr. Gage isn’t 
paid yet, nor Mr. Johnson ; and when we run any 
deeper in debt, I hope it will be for something 
more necessary than a fancy outfit for me. These 
clothes are whole (thanks to your skilful fingers, 
mother), and they are clean (thanks to mine), 
and they must last until I can earn some new 
ones. Don’t look so sober over it, Freda. It 
might be worse. Emerson and his brother had 
only one coat between them, and had to take 
turns in wearing it to school, while I have mine 
all to myself ! ” 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


297 


He had settled the question promptly, but still 
he knew perfectly the reception he would meet 
from his well-dressed schoolmates, and it touched 
one of his sensitive points. It was harder to go 
among strangers, than among his old friends, with 
Harry to stand by him. How often he had longed 
for Harry here ! He had borne the laugh bravely, 
the contemptuous looks of some, the outspoken 
ridicule of others ; but it had been a daily trial, 
and the subject of his daily prayer. So far, he 
had only had the answer with which Paul was 
contented. Some great trouble might have been 
more easily borne, he thought, for there was noth- 
ing heroic about this. He was mistaken ; but 
heroes are seldom conscious of their own heroism. 

His heart bounded now, at the thought that this 
trouble would soon be ended. He had long ago 
fixed upon just the kind of suit he wanted, and 
now he went a little out of his way, to pass a 
tailor’s window, that he might enjoy the sight of it. 

Mrs. Marten met him with ready congratula- 
tions. 

“ Didn’t I tell you,” she said, “ that the world is 
his who has patience ? ” 

“Who has friends, you should say,” Louis 
amended. “You are very kind to give me the 
time.” 

“ Oh, there’ll be enough of that left,” she said ; 
“and I like to help a boy who helps himself. 
He’s sure to come out right in the end. 4 Fling 


298 


CECIL’S KNIGHT . 


him into the river, and he will come up with a 
fish in his mouth.’ Who knows what you may be 
yet? ‘To one who has a pie in the oven, you 
may give a bit of your cake.’ Time may show 
that I’m only ‘ giving an egg to get a chicken.’ ” 

“ That’s promotion from housemaid to house- 
keeper, isn’t it ? ” Chester said when he heard the 
news. “ Your experience will just come in play.” 

“ Oh, I can do the work,” Louis answered. 
“ The only part I dislike, is carrying the notices 
up to the desk, and acting as usher. But I sup- 
pose it can be done,” he added resolutely. 

Chester understood, and instantly formed his 
plan. 

“ Now, that’s the only part I should like,” he 
said. “See here, Lady Louisa! Let’s go into 
partnership. You shall do all the drudgery, and 
have the pay. I don’t want anything to do with 
the one or the other. And I’ll take the orna- 
mental department, put in the fancy touches, and 
oversee you. I’m sure that’s fair ! ” 

They laughed over it together, but Chester was 
in earnest. He urged the merits of his plan, and 
Louis finally consented to try it. 

So the congregation of the West Church was 
surprised, the next Sabbath, by seeing Chester 
gracefully ushering strangers up the broad aisle, 
while Louis was tolling the bell. Burton and 
Dunham first laughed, then looked enviously on, 
and at the first opportunity, begged to be allowed 
to act as ushers for the other aisles. 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


299 


Sophy took care to provide the four with but- 
ton-hole bouquets, as a kind of official badge ; and 
so many complimentary remarks were made about 
the “gentlemanly ushers of the West Church,” 
and they found it so much more pleasant than 
sitting quietly in their pew, that they attended to 
their duties con amove.. Never were strangers 
more carefully watched for, or more courteously 
treated, and never was a church kept in more 
thorough order, than by what Burton called “ the 
quadruple sexton ” and “the sexton syndicate.” 

“ ‘ It never rains, but pours ; ’ so here’s another 
chance for you, Louis,” Mrs. Marten said, coming 
into the sitting-room one night. The boys were 
taking out their books, and Louis had his book 
propped up on the table before him, and was learn- 
ing rules, while he picked over a pan of beans. 
He looked up. 

“ Farmer Taft is husking corn this week ; and if 
you like to work for him evenings, he will give 
you ten cents an hour. There’s no housework to 
do in the evening, you know ; and if you can man- 
age about your studies, there’s a chance to earn 
something.” 

“ Oh, thank you ! ” Louis said brightly. “ I’ll 
manage some way.” 

“You won’t get rich very fast at that rate,” 
Dunham observed. 

“ Every little helps,” Louis said. “ I don’t ex- 
pect to become a millionnaire before next week.” 


300 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


“ If Dunham owned the corn, he might think 
the pay was enough,” Mrs. Marten remarked, with 
some displeasure. u ‘ Broad thongs are cut from 
other men’s leather.’ James Taft is a fair man, 
and that is the going price.” 

“ I think he might pay Lady Louisa a little ex- 
tra, though,” Dunham persisted. “ He has plenty 
of money.” 

“ That makes no difference. What do I care 
how much he has ? I only want work and wages 
from him, and I suppose he knows what the work 
is worth,” Louis said quickly. , 

‘“No one is so open handed as he who has 
nothing to give,’ ” Mrs. Marten moralized. “ It is 
easy to be liberal with another man’s purse.” 

Dunham colored; and to relieve him, Burton 
said, “ If I needed help, I wonder if any one 
would look out for me, as you do for Louis.” 

“ What would be the use ? ” she returned. “ ‘ Set 
a frog on a golden stool, and off it hops again into 
the pond.’ ” 

“ Hear that now ! ” Burton said, in general ap- 
peal. “ If I was in Lady Louisa’s place, I should 
probably do as he does ; sit on my golden stool, 
and pick over beans.” 

“Not you. You’d be much more likely to shy 
them at the cat ! ” Dunham said ungratefully. 

“ The thing which has been, is that which shall 
be,” Mrs. Marten said. “ ‘ The wolf may change 
his coat, but he is a wolf still.’ You can never 
make a crab walk straight forwards.” 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


301 


“ Oh, fan my brow with a peanut-shell ! ” Bur- 
ton exclaimed saucily. 44 I feel extinguished ! A 
frog, and a wolf, and a crab ! I’m a whole menag- 
erie in myself ! ” 

“ Be quiet a minute, and let me speak,” said 
Chester. 44 I have an idea. Though Lady Louisa 
won’t take charity, he won’t object to friendly help, 
especially when it gives his friends a bit of a lark. 
Husking-bees are jolly, and I don’t see why we 
can’t have one, — excepting the girls and the sup- 
per ! I propose that the 4 sexton syndicate ’ add 
an hour apiece to Lady Lou’s time to-morrow 
night.” 

44 Carried unanimously,” Burton said. 44 Needn’t 
prick up your ears, Lady Lou. This is our affair. 
I think it will be fun.” 

“Very good notion,” Mrs. Marten said approv- 
ingly, 44 if you do honest work. ‘Three helping 
each other, are as good as six alone.’ As to the 
fun, I don’t doubt that you’ll find it. There’s 
more or less of it round, wherever you are. It 
isn’t as though you had to do the work, either. 
4 It is easy to go afoot, when one leads one’s horse 
by the bridle.’ ” 

44 We’ll try it, anyway,” Chester said; 44 and now, 
just subside, Burton, for I must go at this essay.” 

Farmer Taft was rather surprised by the arrival 
of the 44 sexton syndicate,” and by the discovery 
that his new hand could work four hours in sixty 
minutes ; but he good-naturedly agreed to the plan, 


302 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


when he found that the boys meant honest work ; 
and they enjoyed the novelty so much that they 
agreed to go again the next night. 

So the little store of coin which Louis put in his 
mother’s hands steadily grew. Mr. Ray took* care 
that the two dollars were paid weekly, and Mrs. 
Thorne added to the treasure, whenever she was 
able to spare a trifle. 

If would be hard to say which of the three was 
most happy, when Louis exhibited himself to his 
mother and Freda, arrayed in the new suit. 

“ Oh, doesn’t he look nice ! ” Freda exclaimed 
breathlessly. 

Mrs. Thorne’s eyes answered. She smoothed 
down the pretty gray cloth, picked a stray thread 
from his sleeve, and ended with a motherly kiss of 
congratulation. 

“ I really begin to feel like folks again,” Louis 
said, looking at himself with great satisfaction. 
“It’s a wonderful comfort to know that my sleeves 
come below my elbows, and that my trousers are 
not a weak imitation of knickerbockers ! I believe 
I feel a good deal more of a man. It’s all very 
well to sing ‘ A man’s a man for a’ that,’ and talk 
of being indifferent to one’s dress, but I don’t 
believe anybody ‘has a soul above buttons.’ 
When it comes to wearing a threadbare, out- 
grown suit, that was new in the year one, while 
all the other fellows are dressed up to the nines, 
I should like to see the boy who wouldn’t feel a 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


303 


twinge once in awhile ! He doesn’t live inside of 
this coat, I know ! ” 

“ I know it was hard for you,” Mrs. Thorne 
said ; “ but you have borne it bravely, and you can 
afford to laugh about it now. Past bitterness 
makes present sweetness all the sweeter.” 

“ You look better than any of them now,” Freda 
said, with sisterly pride. 

“ I’m glad I do, to my little sister’s eyes. I 
dare say every one of the other fellows has a sis- 
ter who tells him exactly the same thing ! ” he 
answered merrily. “ Now if you have admired my 
fine array enough, I’ll make a bundle of the old 
standbys, and take them with me. I’m not going 
to make bread, or groom Dandy, in these, I can 
tell you.” 

“ An overcoat must come next,” his mother said, 
as she helped him to put his bundle into shapely 
form. 

“ I don’t feel as if I ever should be cold,” he 
said. “No; it is your turn. You never think of 
yourself. A shawl is to come next. Good night.” 

Mrs. Marten commended the new attire in her 
own fashion. 

“ Fine feathers make fine birds,” she said, after 
feeling the texture of the cloth, and admiring the 
fit. “ I should hardly know you. I was sure you 
would get them soon. ‘With time and patience 
the mulberry leaf becomes satin.’ Well, if they 
wear according to your deserts, you won’t need 
another outfit until your hair is gray ! ” 


804 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


The boys greeted this with a laugh. They all 
felt an especial interest in the clothes, which their 
kindness had helped him to get ; and Burton, who 
prided himself upon the correctness of his own 
attire, turned him about and examined them criti- 
cally, but ended by pronouncing them “ O. K.” 

Louis liked Chester’s comment best, though it 
made him blush like a girl. It was addressed to 
Mrs. Marten, and not intended for his ears, but he 
heard it. 

“ I didn’t know before that he was such a fine- 
looking fellow,” Chester said. “ 4 Beauty una- 
dorned ’ is nonsense ; but even the old suit couldn’t 
hide the fact that he was a thorough gentleman.” 

After this the world went very smoothly with 
Louis for a time. Declamation day was no longer 
dreaded, and the sexton relieved his volunteer aid 
of the duty of taking notices up to the desk. 

When the corn was husked, Mr. Ray introduced 
him to a friend, who wanted some manuscripts 
copied ; and when that was done, Dr. Grey set him 
to posting his books. Every one seemed willing 
to help him, and he worked and studied with 
equal ardor, throwing himself heartily into what- 
ever the task of the hour might be. 

He had become a leader among the boys in one 
way, as Burton was in another. When any mis- 
chief was on hand, Burton came to the front; for 
anything else, they turned to Louis. 

When he first came to Westerham, a Christian 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


305 


Endeavor society had just been formed there, and 
he joined it at once. He was at first one of its 
most earnest members, and then became one of its 
most influential ones. He enjoyed its meetings 
exceedingly, and wrote such glowing accounts of 
them to Harry, that he took counsel with Dr. Gar- 
diner and Mr. Russell about organizing one in 
their church. 

Louis had persuaded some of the boys to be- 
come associate members. Burton was among these, 
and Louis felt quite sure that the truth had made 
a deeper impression upon him than he was willing 
to allow to others. 

Miss Cecil’s knight had not forgotten her teach- 
ings. He had shown his colors. All the school 
knew that he was a Christian, and enjoyed his 
prayer-meetings, just as they knew that he was a 
capital ball-player, and enjoyed his games. It was 
no more necessary for him to declare the one fact 
than the other ; they needed only to look at him. 
He seemed to throw his energies equally into 
both. 

Now and then, when his strict principles of 
right interfered with something that they wanted 
him to do, some one would try the effect of a 
sneer or a taunt, but the sentiment of the school 
was not with them. As a general thing, they rec- 
ognized that his standard was higher than theirs, 
and respected his effort to reach it, even though it 
sometimes failed. 


306 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


“ I never saw such a fellow ! ” Burton said to 
Mrs. Marten the Sunday that Louis united with 
the church. He had stayed to witness the cere- 
mony. “ I believe in his religion, because I can’t 
help it. He doesn’t try to hide it, but comes right 
out with it, man fashion, as if he was proud of it. 
You can see it behind everything he does. And 
you would think the boys would tease him unmer- 
cifully about it, since he is the only one that flies 
that flag ; but they don’t ! ” 

“I shouldn’t expect they would,” Mrs. Marten 
said. “ First, because they know better, and then 
because it is the half-way Christians, who try to 
‘hunt with the hounds and run with the hare,’ 
who get teased ; not boys like Louis.” 

“ All the same, some of them tried it a little at 
first,” Burton said; “but they soon gave it up. 
He told me once that he wore armor, and I be- 
lieve he does. I shouldn’t object to a suit of it.” 

“He hasn’t got anything that you can’t have 
just as well,” Mrs. Marten returned. “ Why don’t 
you get it for yourself ? ” 

“ Oh, well, I hope I shall, some day,” he said, 
more gravely than he often spoke. 

“You won’t have any better day than this,” 
Mrs. Marten said. “ ‘ What may be done at any 
time, will be done at no time.’ You had better 
settle it now. How do you know you will have 
another chance? ‘When the fool had made up 
his mind, the market had gone by.’ ” 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


307 


But Burton only shook his head. He was not 
ready. But he did try to amend his ways, and, as 
he remarked to Louis, made up his mind to “ go 
into the wholesale good-resolution business,” and 
he would not be convinced that it was not enough, 
or that the bitter fountain could not send forth 
sweet waters. Still, he seemed to feel that he 
needed help, for he deserted Dunham, and at- 
tached himself to Louis, whenever it was possible. 


308 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


CHAPTER XV. 

“ Heaven is not reached at a single bound ; 

But we build the ladder by which we rise 
From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, 

And we mount to the summit round by round.” 

— J. G. Holland. 

HV/fOST of the academy boys went to hear Mr. 

Ray’s lecture on “ Watchwords,” the third 
in the “People’s Course,” and supported their 
teacher by applauding in every possible place. 
Fortunately for their credit, the lecture deserved 
applause. 

“ What did you think of that ? ” Burton asked, 
as he left the hall with Louis. “ Wasn’t it splen- 
did ? I’m proud Qf Mr. Ray. That’s the kind of 
talk that makes a fellow tingle from the top curl 
of his hair down to the tips of his toes ! I feel 
thoroughly stirred up ! ” 

44 So I see,” Louis said, laughing. 44 4 A little 
pot is soon hot,’ Mrs. Marten would say.” 

44 1 guess the big kettle felt the fire, too,” Bur- 
ton retorted. 44 Didn’t I see you devouring every 
word, as if they were sugar-plums? Own up, 
now, like a little man, that you liked it as much 
as I did.” 

“Just as much,” Louis said, “and I mean to 
remember it.” 


CECILS KNIGHT . 


309 


“ Of course,” Burton said. “ So do I. To prove 
it, I’m going to pick out a watchword for myself 
on the spot. I dare say you’ve got yours already. 
You always do manage to head the procession ! ” 

“ I chose mine months ago,” Louis said. “ It is 
4 Loyalty to God ! ’ ” 

“ Oh ! ” Burton said. 44 Of course. But can’t 
you get something for an addition to that ; a sort 
of appendix ; something smaller, that we can have 
together? If we had the same word, we could 
make a sort of Freemason affair of it, you know, 
and have a signal to remind each other of it. 
And let me choose it ; there’s a good fellow. I’ve 
just thought of a first-rate one.” 

44 It must be an odd one if it is better than 
mine,” Louis said. 44 1 don’t believe it is between 
the covers of the dictionary. I’ve proved mine.” 

44 There’s too much of it — and in it ! ” said Bur- 
ton. 44 Stick to one word.” 

44 Let’s hear it,” said Louis, 44 and I’ll consider it/’ 

Burton made a dramatic pause, and then said 
impressively : — 

44 Wolves ! ” 

44 What?” Louis exclaimed, unable to believe 
his ears. 

44 Wolves ! ” Burton repeated, delighted with the 
effect he had produced. 

Louis stopped short under the next lamp-post, 
and twisted him round, so that the light fell on 
his face. 


310 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


“You don’t look crazy,” he remarked, as he 
released him, and walked on. 

“ I should think not,” said Burton. “ That’s 
the beauty of the word, — that nobody will know 
what it means.” 

“ Oh ! I didn’t understand that you meant to 
send the town crier around to proclaim it,” Louis 
observed dryly. “ If you do, I advise putting it 
into Hebrew.” 

“ Don’t you remember the wolf piece I had for 
Rhetoricals last term?” Burton asked, scorning 
the hint ; and throwing himself into a stage atti- 
tude, he declaimed : — 

“ Three gaunt, grim wolves that hunt for men, 

Three gaunt, grim wolves there be ; 

And one is Hunger, and one is Sin, 

And one is Misery. 

“ I sit and think till my head is sore, 

While the wolf, or the wind, keeps shaking the door, 
And I cry to myself, ‘ If the wolf be Sin, 

He shall not come in ! He shall not come in ! ’ ” 

“ All right,” said Louis. “ I see. Only beware 
of Little Red Riding Hood’s fate. You know she 
couldn’t detect the wolf in his disguise, until she 
felt his sharp teeth.” 

“ Pooh ! ” Burton responded scornfully. “ If 
I don’t know a wolf when I see him, he is wel- 
come to bite me.” 

“But his teeth might be sharp,” Louis sug- 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


311 


gested, “even if he was covered with a sheep’s 
skin.” 

“ Oh, a bit of the real animal always peeps out 
somewhere,” Burton asserted; “enough to label 
him, at any rate. Why, man alive,” he went on, 
dropping figures, “don’t you see that a thing 
must be right or wrong, good or bad? And if 
every time I take a notion to go the wrong side 
of the post, I say to myself, 4 W olves ! ’ and 
back out, what’s going to prevent my keeping in 
the straight road ? I’ll try it for a day, anyway. 
It won’t take an act of Congress to change it, if 
it doesn’t work. You don’t seem to appreciate 
it. Just produce a better one ! ” 

“ I couldn’t have honored your check two min- 
utes ago,” Louis said. “ There were no funds in 
the bank then ; but I’m supplied now, thanks to 
you. I’m going to try the virtues of 4 Or.’ ” 

It was now Burton’s turn to say “ What ? ” and 
he said it. 

“ Or,” Louis repeated. “ You said a thing must 
be right or wrong, good or bad, and 4 Or ’ will 
make me consider which it is ; and then my 4 Loy- 
alty to God ’ will know what to do with it.” 

44 1 stick to my 4 wolves,’ ” said Burton. 44 Give 
me a nudge if you see them when I don’t.” 

Just then they reached Mrs. Marten’s, and were 
greeted by a group of their schoolmates. 

44 Here you are at last ! ” Brewer exclaimed. 
“We’ve been waiting for you this half-hour. 


312 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


There’s business on hand. First, will you go to 
the concert at Wayne to-morrow? The Amherst 
Glee Club are going to sing college songs, you 
know, and we’ve engaged Smith’s barge, and the 
black horses, and the seats are all taken except 
two that we left for you ; and best of all, here’s 
Marsden says he will stand treat for our crowd.” 

“ That’s jolly of you, Marsden ! When I make 
my fortune, I’ll do as much for somebody else. 
Of course we’ll go, and be glad to,” Louis said 
heartily, for nothing could have seemed more 
charming to him. 

“ Got leave from the Prof., I suppose ? ” said 
Burton. 

“ Of course. That’s all right, then,” Brewer 
said; “but the next thing isn’t all right.” 

“ What’s the matter ? ” Burton asked. 

“Just this. Isn’t to-morrow a holiday ? ” 

“ Of course it is,” said a chorus of voices. 

“ But here’s the Prof, says Latin is to come 
as usual in the morning, and then his lordship 
graciously gives us the rest of the day, when 
every inch of it belongs to us ! ” 

“ And we’ll have it, too ! ” shouted the chorus. 

“ 4 Britons never shall be slaves ! ’ ” 

“ 4 Millions for defence, but not a cent for trib- 
ute ! ’ ” 

44 But what is it for?” Louis asked, when he 
could make his voice heard. 44 1 don’t understand 
it.” 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


313 


“No more don’t nobody!” said Peters, with 
reckless disregard of grammar. “ But there’s the 
notice on the bulletin board. It’s only our Caesar 
class. The rest of the fellows have the day.” 

“ It’s a shame ! ” Louis said, growing indignant. 
“Now I’ve got to study, and I was going to do 
something else.” 

“And there’s the skating. The ice is tip-top 
now,” groaned Dunham. 

The reminder was fuel to the flame, and the 
excitement increased. All were talking at once. 

More than one oath fell on Louis’ ear ; and at 
last he heard Burton’s angry voice uttering, not 
an oath, for he would not descend to that, but the 
nearest approach to one that his conscience would 
allow ; and it came much nearer to the real thing 
than Louis liked. 

“ Look out ! ” he exclaimed quickly. 

“ What’s the matter ? ” Peters demanded. “ Did 
you see the Prof. ? ” 

“ No,” Louis said. “ I thought I heard a wolf ! ” 

“ Which way ? where ? ” said eager voices ; and 
Dunham said, after listening and hearing nothing, 
“ Pooh ! you’re dreaming. Wolves don’t live this 
side of the Rocky Mountains. What did it sound 
like?” 

“ Like a wolf,” Louis said coolly. “ I’m not up 
in natural history, and I don’t know whether the 
creatures bark, or growl, or what, but I’m sure it 
was a wolf ! ” 


314 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


“Well, it’s gone, and I guess it won’t come 
back ! ” Burton said in an odd tone. “ Let’s go 
back to business. Are we to cut the recitation, or 
remonstrate, or what? We can’t submit to this, 
you know.” 

A variety of propositions followed, from carry- 
ing out Burton’s suggestions to cutting the rope 
of the ^academy bell. 

“We can’t be blamed for not knowing when it 
is time for Csesar, if the bell doesn’t ring,” the 
proposer of this plan urged. 

“We haven’t heard from you, Thorne,” Dunham 
said at last. “ Hush up, boys ! Lady Lou has the 
floor.” 

For once Louis was not ready to speak. Bur- 
ton’s repeated “ ors ” had reminded him of his 
watchword. 

“ I suppose it is obedience or rebellion, respect 
or insult to Mr. Ray,” he said to himself. “ But 
what a bother it is ! I want the time, and I want 
the fun ; and the fellows will be provoked if I back 
out. Dear me, there it is again ! What’s right, or 
what folks say? Why should I care what they 
say ? I know what is right ; I’ve got to catch it 
from conscience or the crowd, and I know which 
dose would be the worse to take.” 

But he did care, nevertheless, and he had reached 
only this point when Dunham called for his views. 
He braced himself up with the thought of Miss 
Cecil’s parting words : “ Don’t be led into wrong- 
doing by the fear of ridicule.” 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


315 


44 I’ve nothing to say that you’ll like to hear,” 
he began. 44 1 don’t think we have any right to 
meddle with other people’s property, even to pay 
them off. You know, as well as I, whether it is 
honest and gentlemanly, or — the other thing. 
The Transcript calls us 4 the young gentlemen of 
the academy ’ ; and if the editor should call us 
thieves or rowdies to-morrow, it wouldn’t be pleas- 
ant to have to say, 4 You’re right, sir! ’ ” 

44 Good for you ! ” said the chorus, never doubt- 
ing that this was the prelude to some other plan. 

44 To-morrow is Mr. Ray’s holiday as well as 
ours,” Louis went on. 44 1 don’t think the most 
amusing thing he could find to do with it would 
be hearing us blunder through a Latin lesson. 1 
can’t' imagine why he wants to do it ; but since he 
does, I shall give him the pleasure of hearing me 
if I have to recite alone. I suppose he has a reason, 
though I can’t guess it.” 

Dead silence followed. 

44 Got a headache, Louis ? ” Peters asked sympa- 
thetically. 

44 Not any, thank you,” Louis said. 

44 Feel feverish ? ” 

44 Cool as a cucumber.” 

44 All the same, I’m sure you’ve got brain fever 
coming on. You don’t mean to stand out against 
all the class ? ” 

44 Against all the school, if I know I’m right.” 

44 Do you pretend, in earnest, that you like to 


316 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


lose the best part of the holiday, and cram up for 
recitation ? ” 

44 Like it ? I hate it ! ” Louis said frankly. 

44 But you’re going to do it ? ” 

“Exactly.” 

44 Then, if you’ve got a reason why, do give it ! ” 

Peters spoke as if he was at the end of his 
patience, and Louis’ first impulse was to retort 
that his reasons were his own private property. 
But the second thought was, 44 Shall I dodge, or 
face the music ? ” And he answered squarely : — 

44 1 thought I had given it. It is because I am 
going to do what I ought instead of what I like. 
My Bible tells me to obey those in authority over 
me, and that means Mr. Ray.” 

44 How wonderfully good we are ! ” Peters re- 
marked contemptuously. 44 We ought to be 
wrapped up in cotton, and only looked at Sun- 
days ! ” 

A low hiss from some of the others followed. 
The blood rushed to Louis’ cheek, and his hands 
involuntarily doubled into fists. He had been 
lately used to applause, and had almost forgotten 
how to bear sneers. He did forget both his watch- 
words for the moment, and made a threatening 
gesture, which Peters was quite ready to meet. 
But two of the others interposed at the same 
minute. 

44 Come,” Burton said; 44 twitting or fighting 
won’t do any good.” 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


317 


“ Hold on there, boys ! ” Brewer said. “ Shall 
you insist on reciting, Thorne, if the Prof, dis- 
misses the class ? ” 

“ Of course not,” Louis said. 

“Drop it there, then,” he rejoined. “I heard 
Mr. Ray and my uncle talking over some of their 
college tricks last week. We’ll try one of them, 
and you’ll see he will dismiss us.” 

“ I will have nothing to do with tricks of 
any kind,” said Louis. “ What are you going to 
do?” 

“ Never you mind,” said Brewer, laughing ; 
“ only you needn’t waste your time getting up 
that lesson, unless you choose.” 

Not another word would he say; but the morn- 
ing brought enlightenment. The Latin class was 
promptly on hand, and Louis was called up. 

“ I’ve lost my Caesar, sir,” he said as he rose. 

“ Smith will lend you his,” said Mr. Ray. 

“ Certainly, sir,” said Smith; “but I have lost 
mine.” 

Mr. Ray’s eyes twinkled a little. 

“ Have you prepared your lesson, Thorne ? ” he 
asked. 

“ Yes, sir,” Louis answered. 

“ When did you lose your book ? ” 

“ I left it on my table before breakfast, and I 
haven’t been able to find it since,” Louis said. 

“ Indeed ! ” said Mr. Ray. “ Is any one here in 
possession of one ? ” 


318 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


He glanced over the class. They were preter- 
naturally grave, but no one had a book. 

“ Brewer,” he said suddenly, “ do you know 
where these missing books are?” 

“ Why, no, sir ! ” Brewer replied, in innocent 
surprise. 

“ I won’t pursue that inquiry at present,” Mr. 
Ray said, with a little emphasis on the last two 
words. “ Fortunately, my copy has not vanished.” 

He held it out to Louis, who could not restrain 
a smile as he stepped up to take it, while the 
others looked blank. But before he finished the 
first line, a boot was drawn sharply over the floor, 
followed instantly by a general scraping, which 
drowned his voice. 

Mr. Ray’s lips were seen to move, and the sound 
ceased. They listened in silence to his sharp 
reproof ; but as soon as Louis began reading, the 
noise re-commenced. He repeated the trial with 
the same result ; most respectful attention to all he 
said, followed by “ confusion worse confounded,” 
as soon as Louis opened his lips. He reflected a 
moment. 

“ The affair of the books might be a joke,” he 
said; “this is an insult; and you must take the 
consequences. You are dismissed for to-day.” 

Little they cared for the future reckoning, since 
they had gained their present point; and they 
hurried out in high glee. 

“ Didn’t I say so ? ” said Brewer, exultantly. 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


319 


“ ‘ And everybody praised the duke, 

Who this great fight did win.’ 

‘ But what good oame of it at last ? ’ 

Quoth little Peterkin. 

‘ Why, that I cannot tell,’ said he, 

‘ But ’twas a famous victory I ’ ” 

Louis quoted, with significance. “You don’t 
know what may come of it yet. And how could 
you say you didn’t know where the books were ? ” 
“ What else could I say ? ” said Brewer. “ ‘ I 
can’t tell a lie, pa.’ Do you suppose I hid those 
books? No, sir! I merely remarked before Jones, 
junior, that our class would be very grateful to 
any one who would take care of our Caesars to-day. 
The youngster is good at taking hints ; but I don’t 
know that he took the books. He didn’t tell me 
of it. I don’t know where they are ! ” 

“ Facts, on the surface,” thought Louis, “ but at 
the bottom, truth or falsehood ? ” 

“ Here’s a pretty state of things ! ” Peters ex- 
claimed, coming up to a group of his friends late 
in the afternoon. “We can’t go to-night! The 
Prof, forbids it.” 

“What’s the reason?” Burton demanded. “I 
wonder what he’ll do next ! ” 

“Well,” Peters said, “he did allude to this 
morning’s affair, — ‘disgraceful scene,’ I think he 
called it, — and hinted about ‘loss of confidence.’ 
That might have something to do with it ! ” 

“Pooh!” Dunham said, in deep disgust. “I 


320 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


thought he could take a joke better than that ! 
What’s to be done ? It isn’t fair to Marsden, for 
he’s bought the tickets and engaged the team. 
Besides, the whole town will be laughing at us 
before morning.” 

“I’ll risk it and go, if the rest of you will,” 
Brewer said suddenly. “ At the worst, I don’t 
suppose the Prof, will eat us.” 

It was too tempting. No one refused. 

“ We’ll start from Smith’s,” Peters said. “ And 
look here, boys. Don’t mention this hitch in the 
programme to Lady Lou. Unless he has come to 
his senses, he might refuse to go, and we must 
have the old fellow. The Prof, can’t forbid the 
town boys ; but there’s no knowing what notion of 
right or wrong he may take. Keep it dark ! ” 

Burton had an uneasy consciousness that there 
was a “ wolf ” in the immediate vicinity ; but the 
escapade promised to be such fun that he could 
not give it up, and he coined excuses enough for 
doing as he wished, to bury the animal fathoms 
deep. 

They safely effected their departure from 
Smith’s, and once fairly on the way, their spirits 
rose to nonsense pitch. Tin horns mysteriously 
appeared and were blown with ear-splitting effect. 
Songs were sung, with chorus “by the whole 
strength of the company.” Uproarious laughter 
greeted the weakest attempt at a joke. Every 
one they met was saluted with cheers. In the 
midst of the fun, Peters produced a parcel. 


CECIL’S KNIGHT . 


321 


“ Here’s something comforting,” he said. “ Pass 
’em along, Dick.” 

Jn a moment, faint clouds of smoke floated up, 
tainting the clear air. No one was making his 
first acquaintance with the weed ; and as Dunham 
remarked, it was “ the thing,” to smoke on such 
an occasion. Peters considerately lighted one, 
and put it in Louis’ fingers. 

“ Do be sensible for once,” he whispered, “ and 
do as the rest do.” 

“Good habit or bad?” Louis returned, in the 
same low tone. “ Benefit or injury ? Pleasure 
enough to balance the harm, or harm enough to 
outweigh the pleasure ? They say it leads to some- 
thing else. Easier to stop now, or by and by? 
I’ve heard the habit grows on one. A man or a 
chimney ? My promise to my mother, or pleasing 
the boys ? Thank you, Peters, but here goes ! ” 

Out went the cigar on the snow. No one * 
had heard them; but Burton uttered a subdued 
“ Hollo ! ” when he saw the little red spark shoot- 
ing through the air. 

“It’s a wolf, or first cousin to one,” Louis re- 
marked, in an undertone ; but Brewer caught the 
word. 

“ What ! ” he exclaimed sharply. “ Hasn’t that 
wolf of yours got out of hearing yet, Lady Lou ? ” 

“ I didn’t hear him this time,” Louis said meekly. 

“ I saw his eyes, and felt his hot breath ! ” 

“Nonsense!” Brewer said. “It’s a stray cat, 


322 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


unless you’ve got delirium tremens. If there was a 
wolf round, he wouldn’t come near a lot of fellows, 
who could out-howl him without half trying ! ” 

Louis was not so sure of it. He looked at 
Burton ; but Burton said nothing, and puffed the 
more. 

“ Come, you’ve got wolf on the brain,” Brewer 
said. “ I’ll insure you against them for a dime. 
There’s no bite to all the wolves you’ll find here.” 

Louis looked at Burton again, and replied, — 

“ There was a young man of Gretna, 

Who jumped down the crater of iEtna. 

When they asked, * Is it hot ? * 

He replied, ‘ It is not ! * 

That mendacious young person of Gretna.” 

He was soon again, as usual, the life of the party. 
He capped every remark with one still more ridicu- 
lous ; he improvised a song on the day’s events, 
d la Hook, each line followed by the rousing 
“ Up-i-dee ” chorus ; he uttered such brilliant wit- 
ticisms that his hearers laughed until they could 
only gasp out, “What a fellow you are, Lady 
Lou!” 

In the midst of their fun the lights of Wayne 
came in sight. 

“We’re in good time,” Marsden observed. 

“ Look here ! ” Dunham said suddenly. “ When 
I passed the Prof.’s house, 1 saw him driving off. 
I just remembered it. Could he be going to the 
concert ? Suppose he should see us there ? ” 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


323 


‘‘Whew!” whistled Peters. “We must run 
our chance, and trust to luck. We can’t dodge, 
because the tickets fix our seats.” 

Louis heard, but could not understand. 

“ What do you mean ? ” he asked. “ What if 
he should see us ? A cat can look at a king.” 

“Well,” Peters said, seeing that the thing must 
come out, “ there’s no telling what would happen. 
He’s up to anything. Might make me sing a 
solo.” 

Louis was more perplexed than ever ; but a few 
urgent questions brought out the facts, given the 
more willingly since the others enjoyed his sur- 
prise, and were certain that he could not escape. 

“ You see you are in for it now,” Dunham said 
exultantly, feeling sure that Louis would enjoy 
the joke as much as any one, after the first minute 
of chagrin. 

“ Right, or wrong ? ” thought Louis. “ Flat re- 
bellion against the Prof., or a minority of one ? ” 

The option was not a pleasant one, and Louis 
considered it a minute. It reminded him of Miss 
Cecil’s quotation, “ One with God is a majority.” 
At the thought his mind was made up. 

“Come, you’re in for it,” Dunham repeated. 
“ But you know you townies are not under rules 
out of school hours. It’s only us boarders, so the 
Prof, has nothing to say to you. And if he had, 
you can’t help yourself now ; so don’t be cranky, 
old fellow.” 


324 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


“ Two mistakes there,” said Louis. “ It’s plain 
that Mr. Kay meant to forbid the whole expedi- 
tion, so I ought not to be here. And I think 1 
can help myself, so long as I have two good feet 
of my own ! ” 

“ Perhaps you don’t know that your two good 
feet are ten miles from home,” Peters observed. 

“ It would take more than ten miles to frighten 
them,” Louis responded. “ I’d rather carry an 
approving conscience twice the distance than to 
stay here and know I was doing wrong.” 

“ Oh, bother ! ” said Peters. “ You’d better get 
your approving conscience framed, and hang it up 
to look at ! ” 

Louis would not seem to hear. 

“ Come, boys,” he said, “ you know we’ve no 
business to go in the teeth of the Prof.’s orders, 
and you’ll be sure to find your match in him. You 
had better take the back track with me.” 

“ Oh, I see ! ” Dunham said ; “ Lady Louisa’s 
afraid!” 

It was the taunt, of all possible ones, the hard- 
est to bear. Louis’ eyes flashed, and he sprung to 
his feet. 

“ Afraid ! Of doing right, or of being laughed 
at ! ” The thought was as quick as the motion. 
“Miss Cecil’s knight isn’t going to be a coward, 
for fear of being called one. Am I going to hide 
my flag because they choose to sneer at it ? ” 

“Just as you like,” he said firmly. “You all 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


325 


know whether I’m likely to be afraid or not. And 
you know what is right as well as I. A Christian 
has no business to do what he knows is wrong. I 
don’t think anybody else has, either ! Now, once 
for all, will you give this thing up, and go back?” 

“No, we won’t! ” was the prompt response. 

“ Then good by,” Louis said, and the next in- 
stant he was standing in the snowy road. 

“ Your wolf will catch you ! ” Brewer shouted 
back, as they drove on. 

“Not he! I’ve left him among you,” Louis 
replied. 

He looked after them until the sound of the 
bells died away in the distance, and then began 
his long lonely walk. At first he was not in a 
cheerful mood. The silence and loneliness, con- 
trasted with the merry party he had left, were not 
inspiriting, and he regretted losing the concert, 
from which he had anticipated so much pleasure. 
But, on the other hand, he had the “approving 
conscience ” of which he had spoken, and he said, 
“ I ought to be glad of a chance to sacrifice some- 
thing for my Master.” His heart grew lighter, 
and he walked cheerily on, until he was roused 
by a shout. He waited, and presently Burton 
appeared. 

“ Good for you ! Where’s the rest ? ” was Louis’ 
greeting. 

“In Wayne Hall, I suppose, having a jolly 
time,” Burton answered, a little ruefully. “ But 


326 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


you know you left my wolf in the sleigh, and, 
though I tried to believe he wasn’t there, he kept 
biting till I thought it was time to see about it.” 

“ Ah ! ” said Louis. “ I was sure you would 

“ ‘ If the wolf be sin, 

He shall not come in,’ 

if you would only think of it.” 

“ But I didn’t.” said Burton. “ I hadn’t pluck 
enough to face him as you did, so I only said as 
meekly as possible, “ I guess, on the whole, if you 
don’t mind, perhaps you had better not come in 
this time ! ” 

“Don’t slander yourself,” said Louis. 

“ It’s true enough,” Burton said. “ I don’t say, 
‘You shall not come in!’ and I can’t brace up 
enough to turn him out until I get a bite to remem- 
ber him by. I wouldn’t have believed that wolves 
were so plenty as I have found them to-day. It 
must have been an extra good day for them ! ” 

“Perhaps you noticed them more. One sees 
what one looks for,” Louis suggested. 

“Well, this one seems to have eaten up our 
concert, anyway,” Burton said. “What a good 
time the fellows must be having ! ” 

“ But I would rather be here,” Louis said. 

They had gone another mile, when they heard 
bells approaching rapidly. 

“Perhaps we can get a lift,” Burton said; and 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


327 


turning to look, they saw the very barge they had 
deserted. 

“ Is it you ? ” Louis asked, in surprise. “ What’s 
the matter ? Concert didn’t come off ? ” 

“ Oh, yes,” Brewer answered. “ It came off, 
fast enough, — and so did we ! As for being us, 
it’s all that is left of us. I feel small enough to 
creep into a mouse-hole, or rattle in a chestnut- 
shell. Tumble in ! We happen to be going your 
way, and I’ll explain.” 

They sprang in, and he proceeded. 

“The coast was clear when we went into the 
hall ; but just as the singing began, in came the 
Prof. I would give all my old shoes to have seen 
his face when he discovered us! But 1 didn’t see 
him till he had recovered from the shock. He 
nodded to us, as if it was all right. He’s a brick, — 
I’ll say that for him, — not to make a row there. 
All the same, his mouth had that set look that it 
takes sometimes, and I knew there was thunder in 
the air. He began writing on the back of his pro- 
gramme, and pretty soon it was handed to me. 
Want to hear his message ? I can say it. 

“ 4 1 forbade you to come here, and you came. 
Now, I order you all to return home at once, and 
remain in your rooms until further notice ; and I 
advise you to obey.’ 

“Wasn’t that sweet? We thought we would 
take his advice. We didn’t put on any airs 


328 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


coming out of that hall, I can tell you. We 
filed out, heads down, as meek as so many sheep. 
I never felt so cheap in my life. Anybody might 
have had me for five cents, with a chromo thrown 
in ! And here we are, minus the concert, and plus 
a pleasant prospect for to-morrow ! I can’t say 
that I’m anxious to see the Prof, again 1 ” 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


329 


CHAPTER XVI. 


“ Walking his round of duty 
Serenely, day by day, 

With the strong man’s hand of labor, 
And childhood’s heart of play ; 

“ True as the knights of story, 

Sir Lancelot and his peers ; 

Brave in his calm endurance, 

As they in tilt of spears.” 


— J. G. Whittier. 


S the days passed on, there came a change in 



Louis. A cloud seemed to settle over his 
bright face. His ready smile was gone. He spoke 
only when it was necessary, and often appeared to 
be lost in unpleasant thought. He attended faith- 
fully to every duty still ; but he did it as if they 
were duties merely, and not pleasures, as they had 
always seemed to be. 

The change was so complete that every one 
noticed it. Chester knew the very day when it 
began, though its cause was as much a mystery to 
him as to any one. He ventured on a question or 
two, but Louis kept his own counsel. 

One day, with some embarrassment, he asked 
Mrs. Marten if he might spend his evenings and 
nights at home, promising to return as early as she 


330 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


chose in the morning. His mother wanted him, 
he said. Mrs. Marten consented ; but she thought 
the request was singular, and his manner still 
more so. 

“ You had better draw the curb a little on that 
young Thorne of yours,” a neighbor said to her 
soon after. “You are letting him have his head 
too much. I hear of him in bad company; and 
last night I saw him myself, going into Winter’s, 
when he ought to have been in bed. You know 
the character that place has, and deserves to have.” 

“Our Louis? That’s impossible! You must 
have mistaken some one else for him,” Mrs. Mar- 
ten said confidently. “ Louis isn’t that kind of a 
boy. He’s as steady as old Time in the Primer ! ” 

“1 advise you to look after him,” her friend 
repeated. “I’ve heard of boys who looked as if 
butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths, and were as 
mild as new milk at home, who would foam up 
like soda-water as soon as they got away where 
they could have a chance. Anyway, I guess I 
know Louis Thorne by sight ; and if it wasn’t him 
that I saw last night, I’ll eat him without salt! 
He knows best what he was doing there. The 
thorn will prick you, if you don’t take care.” 

Still she looked unconvinced. 

“ I should much sooner believe that you were 
mistaken than that Louis was in such a place,” 
she said. “You mean it kindly; but I’m sure 
there is a mistake” 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


331 


He muttered something about being “ wiser than 
ten men who could render a reason”; and she 
turned away, but looked back to say, “All bo^s 
look alike in the night,” taking the proverbial 
woman’s last word. 

She would not ask Louis for an explanation. 
Why should she, when she did not, or would not, 
believe there was anything to explain ? 

But constant dropping wears away the stone. 
From one person after another she heard of Louis’ 
repeated visits to Winter’s, which was a liquor 
saloon of unsavory reputation. She began to 
grow uneasy. Perhaps for that very reason she 
answered Burton sharply, when he ventured to 
allude to the rumors. 

“ ‘ The dream of the cat is about mice,’ ” she said ; 
“ but that’s no proof that there’s one in the barn.” 

“ It’s no dream of mine. The stories seem to 
be true,” he urged. 

“That’s no reason why you should lend them 
wings,” she returned. “‘The sun will go down, 
all by himself, without your help.’ And even if 
they were true, you are the last person to blame 
him. 4 The friar preached against stealing, when he 
had a pudding in his sleeve ! ’ Do you think I 
don’t know that you are always ready for any sort 
of mischief? ‘Those who live in glass houses 
shouldn’t throw stones.’ ” 

Burton shrugged his shoulders. 

“ Mischief? yes,” he said ; “ but one must dra’vy 


332 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


the line somewhere, and I draw it at Winter’s. 
That wolf is too big for me. And to think of 
L&dy Louisa going there ! I did believe he was a 
Christian, if there ever was one, and I wished 1 
was like him ; but to think of him there ! 4 What 

a fall was there, my countrymen ! ’ ” 

“ The pan says to the pot, 4 keep off, or you’ll 
smutch me.’ I only wish you were half as good 
as Louis. 4 When the fox preaches, look after the 
geese!”’ she retorted, silencing Burton com- 
pletely. 

44 1 promised to trust him, and I mean to keep 
my word,” she said to herself, 44 but I didn’t prom- 
ise to shut my eyes. He certainly does not seem 
like himself of late. Something is wrong. If I 
ask him point blank, he will think I doubt Mm. 
But suppose he should be trying to hoodwink me ? 

4 All are not saints who go to church.’ I should 
like to find out the truth. 4 Seeing is believing.’ 
I’ve got two eyes of my own, and a pair of spec- 
tacles besides, and I mean to use them ! ” 

She waited until the evening was well ad- 
vanced ; then put on her bonnet and went out. 

It was a dark and rainy night. The streets 
were almost deserted. The wind blew in fitful 
gusts, driving the rain before it, and was so strong 
that she did not find it easy to hold her umbrella. 

She turned her steps first to Mrs. Thorne’s cot- 
tage. It was a long walk in the rain ; but when 
she reached it, she did not enter. The shades 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


333 


were not dropped, and she could see plainly into 
the room. Louis was not there. Mrs. Thorne 
sat by Freda’s bed, sewing busily. At the sound 
of steps, she lifted her head, and listened as if 
expecting some one, but all was still again. 

“ ‘ Second thoughts are best,’ ” Mrs. Marten re- 
flected. “ If I find him in that den, it will be 
time enough to distress them ! ” 

She made her way down River Street, and 
stopped opposite Winter’s saloon, listening to the 
“ sound of revelry by night,” which could be 
heard for some distance. She drew nearer, and 
looked into the brightly lighted room. 

Yes, Louis was there ! His face was turned 
away from her, but there was no mistaking him. 
He seemed to be talking earnestly to one of the 
men ; but the others were listening, and when he 
ended, a shout of laughter followed. She could 
easily imagine how popular his ready wit and 
merry laugh would make him among those men. 

While she looked, there was a movement in the 
saloon. She hastily crossed the street again, and 
took refuge in a doorway opposite, just as Louis 
himself came out. 

Some one was with him, holding his arm, and 
he seemed to put up his umbrella with some diffi- 
culty. She heard the silly laugh of the half- 
drunken man, and Louis answered him, though 
she could not distinguish the words. By the 
lio’ht which streamed from the saloon windows, 

O 


834 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


she watched them stagger down the street, and 
then she turned towards home. 

She felt both angry and hurt, and her cheeks 
were wet with something besides the raindrops. 
She had been so fond of Louis, so proud of his 
energy and independence, so interested in his suc- 
cess, had tried in so many ways to help him, and 
thought he was doing so well, that this discovery 
was a great disappointment to her. She prided 
herself upon her penetration, too, and the thought 
that she had been so easily deceived was not 
pleasant. 

fc ‘ Well, it might be worse,” she reflected. “ ‘If 
I have lost my rings, I have my fingers still.’ I 
did my best, and I won’t regret it, even though it 
has turned out so ill. ‘Do good, and throw it 
into the sea; if the fishes don’t know it, God 
will.’ ” 

She dismissed Louis the next morning. She 
intended only to tell him that she needed him no 
longer; but one thing led to another, until she 
found herself taxing him with his misdeeds. 

“ I did trust you, Louis,” she said, almost crying, 
“ and I tried to help you, but ‘ eaten bread is soon 
forgotten.’ I put more confidence in you than 1 
ever did, or ever shall, put in another boy, and I 
never suspected you of ‘ carrying two faces under 
one hood.’ I wouldn’t believe anything short of 
the report of my own eyes, though I heard stories 
enough about you ; but I saw this myself. I held 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


335 


you up as an example to Burton, but it seems that 
I ‘fled from the rain, and sat down under the 
water-spout ’ ; for though he is always in mischief, 
he would scorn such downright wickedness. And 
you, a professing Christian, too ! How can you 
do it? It just proves the old saying true, ‘ Noth- 
ing is more like an honest man than a rogue.’ ” 

Louis listened, with flushing cheeks, but he let her 
finish without interruption. He looked troubled, 
but he showed no consciousness of guilt, and his 
clear eyes met hers as frankly as ever. 

“You promised once that you would listen to 
me, if such a thing as this ever happened,” he said, 
when she gave him a chance to speak. “ I pledge 
you my word that not a drop of anything intoxi- 
cating has ever passed my lips, and it never shall. 
I despise the stuff!” he finished, with a sudden 
flash of energy. 

Mrs. Marten wavered a little. 

“ Can there be a mistake,” she said doubtfully. 
“ I see you are not afraid to look at me, and ‘ when 
the mouse laughs at the cat, there is a hole.’ You 
have never told me an untruth, and certainly I 
did not see you drink ; but still, people don’t go to 
Winter’s, night after night, to drink new milk ! 
If I find a boy in my cherry-tree, I don’t need to 
ask whether he is digging potatoes up there. Be- 
sides, ‘ tell me the company you keep, and I’ll tell 
you who you are ! ’ That man with you was cer- 
tainly drunk ; and it seemed to me that your walk 
was no steadier than his.” 


336 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


“Very likely,” Louis said, “for I carried part 
of his weight. But I can’t let you think so ill of 
me, Mrs. Marten. I see now that it does look sus- 
picious to one who doesn’t know about it, though 
I never thought of it before. I will tell you the 
whole. I didn’t go to that place for my own 
pleasure. 1 went to persuade my father to come 
home, and I was helping him home when you saw 
me.” 

“ Your father ! ” Mrs. Marten exclaimed. “ I 
thought he was dead ! ” 

“ I knew you did,” he answered ; “ but you only 
inferred it. Sometimes I wondered whether I 
ought not to tell you, though you asked no ques- 
tions, but I could not make up my mind to speak 
of him. We never spoke of him, even at home. 
He was really dead to us. He went away two 
years ago, without giving us the least notice, or 
even saying good by ; and we never saw him again, 
until he came in one night three weeks ago, in 
much the same state as when he left us, and 
asked mother when supper would be ready ! ” 

“ But you had heard from him ? He had sent 
you money ? ” she said. 

“ Not a word ; not a cent,” Louis replied. 
“ When he came to himself again, he said he 
thought we should do better without him ; and 
in some ways he was right. We have supported 
ourselves, after a fashion. The wolf has scratched 
at the door sometimes ; but we have managed, so 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


33T 


far, to keep him out ; and mother is earning good 
wages, and I am growing older, so that I think we 
can defy him now, — unless the liquor bills are too 
heavy 

He was thinking of the little fund laid by for 
the doctor’s bill, which had disappeared since the 
wanderer’s return. 

“ It is a shame ! ” Mrs. Marten exclaimed. 

Louis nodded. 

“ Mother will never let me say so,” he said, half 
laughing ; “ but I can’t help thinking it. She says, 
I must remember, whatever he does, that he is my 
father; but he doesn’t make it easy. I try to 
honor him, according to the commandment; but 
how can I ? If you could see him when he is him- 
self, you would say he was just splendid, and he 
is ; but when he has been drinking, he doesn’t 
know what he says or does.” 

“Then that is the reason why your mother 
wanted you at home at night ? ” she said. 

“ Yes,” he answered. “ It is very odd ; but he 
will listen to me, when he won’t to mother or 
Freda. And sometimes, though not always, I can 
coax him away from the saloon. That’s what I 
did last night. But I never thought of any one’s 
dreaming that I went there for my own pleasure ! 
I despise the place, and the people in it ! Such a 
set! I wish it wasn’t against the law to drop a 
lighted match into it, some night. The world 
would be better without it.” 


338 


CECIL'S KNIGHT . 


44 May be ; but I guess 1 wouldn’t do that ! ” she 
said. 

“ There’s one comfort,” he went on. 64 He only 
goes out at night. If anybody had told us, years 
ago, that he would ever sink to this, that we 
should be glad to hide him, how we should have 
scouted it ! I can’t understand how a man can 
give up everything, and make himself worse than 
a brute, just for something to drink ! ” he said, 
with boyish scorn. “ It is worse than Esau and 
his pottage ! But mother is certain that some day 
he will reform, and our good times will come back 
again. I am glad she can believe it ; I wish I could.” 

“ 4 When things come to the worst, they will 
mend,’ ” Mrs. Marten rejoined. “ If your mother 
doesn’t give up, why should you? Your good 
times may be just at the door. Perhaps it is your 
hand that is to turn the key and let them in. 4 It 
is darkest just before dawn.’ ” 

Louis shook his head doubtfully. 

“ It’s been 4 darkest ’ a good while,” he said. 

44 Then it’s getting time for the sun to rise,” Mrs. 
Marten returned. 44 Why, Louis, what ails you? 
Don’t you believe that God can save your father? ” 

44 Why, of course He can,” Louis said. 

44 Then why don’t you ask Him to do it ? ” she 
rejoined. 

44 1 have,” he said. 

44 May be,” she said ; 44 but you don’t speak as if 
you expected Him to do it. Where’s your faith?” 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


339 


Louis was silent. 

“ I see,” he said presently, “ I haven’t had any 
faith. But I know God can do it, and I will ask 
again and expect an answer. Will you pray for 
both of us ? ” 

“ Of course I will,” the good woman said. “ But 
you must both pray and work. If you have 
influence enough to get him away from Win- 
ter’s, I think a little more might prevent his 
going there.” 

“ I have done my best, and failed,” said Louis. 

“ Very likely,” she replied; “but your best of 
yesterday isn’t your best of to-day. Try again. 
Persuade him to sign the pledge, if you can. 
That’s something to hold on by. Then there’s a 
Reform Club in town, and I’m sure they would 
help you.” 

But Louis shrank from this. 

“ I can’t bear to have people know of it,” he 
said. “ Remember, he’s my father ; and though I 
do get out of patience with him, I can’t stand hav- 
ing people despise him.” 

“They won’t, when you have helped him to 
make himself worthy of respect again,” she said. 
“ But you must see that it won’t do to hide him. 
People must know about him ; for your own repu- 
tation is suffering ; and, even if you were willing 
to bear that, you have no right to bring such a 
reproach upon the church. Others believe what I 
believed. Secrecy will harm you, and do him no 


340 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


good. But don’t give him up. 4 While there’s 
life, there’s hope.’ And now go about your work. 
I seem to be always dismissing you and having to 
take it back ! ” 

Louis went, with a brighter face than he had 
lately worn. Sympathy makes a burden seem 
lighter, and the reminder of God’s power had 
given him hope. He resolved to begin afresh, and 
use every means that he could think of, with his 
utmost energy and perseverance, to bring his 
father back. 

Mrs. Marten introduced him to several members 
of the Reform Club, and he asked their advice 
and help. They gave it willingly ; and having 
been in the depths themselves, seemed to know 
how to help another out. 

Before Mr. Thorne knew how it happened, he 
found himself surrounded by a little circle of 
friends, who knew exactly what his temptations 
were, and what help he needed. They procured 
work for him, which kept him busy through the 
day ; and one who lived near him made a point of 
walking home with him every night, convoying 
him safely past the man-traps in the way. When 
evening came, others were sure to drop in, on one 
pretext or another, and his instinct of courtesy 
had force enough to prevent his leaving them, to 
go to the saloon. 

Additional comforts appeared in the little home, 
and Mrs. Thorne’s face began to brighten. Yet 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


341 


he steadily refused to sign the pledge ; and in 
spite of all their care, and of his own resolutions, 
he would find his way to the saloons now and 
then, though his indulgence was less frequent. 

But when one thing failed, Louis tried another. 
He prayed as he had never prayed before, and he 
felt the answer of peace in his heart. No failure 
seemed to discourage him, and his very confidence 
of success began to influence his father. 

The poor slave wanted to be free from his 
chains, but he had not will-power enough to throw 
them off. Louis’ firmness of purpose and steady 
assurance of victory seemed to be a stay and a 
support to his wavering will. He talkeid freely 
with him about it, mourned over his lapses, of 
which he seemed thoroughly ashamed, but declared 
that a little stimulant from time to time was an 
absolute necessity to him. 

“ There is such a craving, gnawing feeling,” he 
said. “ I can’t describe it to you ; but when it gets 
unendurable, I must drink.” 

“But that only stops it for the time,” Louis 
said. 

“ That’s all, and it gets worse every time,” Mr. 
Thorne said. “ I suppose I know what it must 
come to, but I can’t help it.” 

“ You say that, and yet you won’t sign a pledge 
to give it up ! ” Louis exclaimed. 

“ You all seem to think there’s some magic in 
that pledge,” Mr. Thorne returned. “ I know bet- 


342 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


ter. I won’t give my word only to break it ; and 
when that feeling comes, you might as well tell 
a starving man not to eat. I couldn’t live with- 
out it.” 

Louis glanced at the tall, strong figure, with 
distinct unbelief. 

“ But I’ll brew you gallons of coffee to tide you 
over the crisis,” he said. “ I can make delicious 
coffee.” 

But his father shook his head. 

“ You would do anything you could, I know,” 
he said ; “ and I think I would ; but if I ever get 
out, it will be because you pray me out. A man 
is mad who forms the habit of drinking ; but once 
formed, it holds him fast.” 

“Unless he has resolution enough to break 
away ! You know I don’t mean to be disrespect- 
ful, father,” Louis said earnestly ; “ but only think 
how much sorrow your drinking brings both upon 
yourself and us. It is the one trouble of our lives. 
It seems to me that we could bear anything else 
better. Won’t you make this effort for our sakes? 
With God’s help I know you could do it. I am 
proud of my father when he is himself, but I am 
ashamed to be called a drunkard’s son. It throws 
a shadow over all my prospects. I know you 
always keep your word. If you care for our hap- 
piness, or for my success in life, or for your own 
soul, do promise me not to touch that stuff 
again ! ” 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


343 


“ I promise that I’ll do my very best, Louis,” 
he said, impressed by the boy’s earnest appeal. 

He was very proud of his son, and it hurt him 
to hear that he was ashamed of him ; though he 
knew that he had reason to be. He did try, with 
better success than ever before, and Louis’ hopes 
ran high ; but then there came another fall. When 
Mr. Thorne came to himself again, he was in de- 
spair. 

“ You see ! ” he said ; “ and yet I did do my best, 
as I promised you. You will have to give me 
up.” 

“ Not a bit of it,” said Louis. “ I see that you 
can’t do it in your own strength; but you can 
with God’s help. I ask Him every day to give it 
to you ; dear father, won’t you ask for yourself ? ” 

“I really thought we had succeeded at last,” 
Louis said to Mrs. Marten. 44 If he once took the 
pledge, he would keep it, whatever it cost him ; 
and he almost promised before this last time.” 

“ Almost ! ” she returned. “ 4 1 almost killed the 
bird, but no one can eat 44 almost ” in a stew.’ Get 
him to go just a step further, Louis. That one 
step means just the difference between safety and 
ruin.” 

“ We’ll fetch it yet,” Louis said hopefully. 44 He 
is trying again ; and I think he begins to see that 
he must have God’s help. I wish I could lock 
him up till he could get over that horrible craving. 
People in jail have to do without it ! ” 


344 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


But help was coming. The weak will was to 
be guarded by something stronger than bolts or 
bars. Louis’ prayers were answered, though not 
in the way he expected. Our blessings often 
come in the disguise of trials, and our Father 
takes His own way and time to send them. 

That night there was an alarm of fire. The 
hotel was burning. When Louis and his father 
reached it, the flames were streaming through the 
roof. It was past saying, and the firemen turned 
the water on the next house, which was in im- 
minent danger. 

Suddenly there was a cry of horror. A child 
was aeen at a window of the doomed building, 
reaching out imploring hands for help. A thrill 
ran through the crowd, but even the brave firemen 
hesitated. 

“There’s no chance!” “It’s certain death!” 
“ Get a ladder ! ” a multitude o*f voices shouted 
together. 

Louis could not stop to count chances with 
that child before his eyes. A thought of the 
“ knight evening ” with Miss Cecil flashed across 
his mind, in the midst of the tumult. He sprang 
forward, but his father held him back. 

“ Your life is worth something ! ” he said hur- 
riedly. “ I’ll go ! ” 

He wrung Louis’ hand. By the ruddy fight of 
the flames, his face was seen, full of resolute pur- 
pose. Before any one could stop him, he caught 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


345 


a rope from a fireman and disappeared in the 
black, rolling clouds of smoke. 

The crowd waited breathlessly. 

The stairs were burning. He dipped his hand- 
kerchief in the water which flooded the floor, held 
it over his mouth and nostrils, and rushed up 
through the flames. Scorched and blinded, and 
gasping for breath, he groped his way to the terri- 
fied child, guided by her screams. The rope was 
short, but it sufficed to lower her until he could 
drop her safely on the mattress which eager hands 
held up. 

Only then he thought of himself. He turned ; 
but his retreat was cut off. The red flames 
rolled up fierce and fast behind him. The heat 
was insufferable. The roar of the fire was in his 
ears. The thick smoke suffocated him. There 
seemed no way of escape. 

As Death drew near, his wasted life, and the 
judgment to come, rose up before him, more ter- 
rible than the flames behind him. In the midst 
of that blazing furnace, he threw up his hands, as 
if he would lay hold on the horns of the altar, and 
uttered the first real prayer that ever passed his 
lips. 

“O God, forgive me for Jesus’ sake! Have 
mercy on me ! ” he cried out. 

And the Lord, merciful and gracious, hearkened 
and heard. Through smoke and flame came the 
message of pardon, and the angels in heaven re- 
joiced. 


346 


CECIL’S KNIGHT. 


A tongue of fire touched his cheek. He felt 
the scorching floor tremble under his feet. The 
wall to which he was clinging, bent. 

“Jump! Jump! For your life!” a clear voice 
rang out over the tumult. 

He saw Louis’ agonized face, his beckoning ges- 
ture, and he leaped, just as the wall fell with a 
crash. 

Two days after, as he lay in his own bed, 
bruised and burned, and with a broken leg, but 
still with a new look of peace upon his face, Louis 
guided his bandaged hand to write his name under 
the pledge. 

“ 4 Saved, as by fire,’ ” Mr. Thorne said, looking at 
the wavering lines. 44 1 know what that means. I 
have faced death now, and I know how it looks. 
When it comes to me again, it will be my Father’s 
messenger, and with His help, it shall not find a 
drunkard ! I don’t believe that I shall ask for 
liquor ; but if I should be mad enough to do it, 
don’t give me one drop, even if 1 die for lack of 
it ! I will die sober ! ” 

44 Why, man, you’re not going to die ! ” Mrs. 
Marten said, wiping her eyes. 44 Y ou are going to 
live, to see Louis make as noble a man as his 
father.” 

44 Poor Louis ! ” he said. 

44 Rich Louis ! ” the boy said quickly. 44 For he 
has a father to be proud of.” 

44 Proud ! ” he echoed sadly. 


CECIL'S KNIGHT 


347 


44 Don’t look back,” Mrs. Marten said, in her 
most cheery tone. 44 4 If the best man’s faults 
were written on his forehead, it would make him 
pull his hat over his eyes.’ The fire has burned 
up the record of your past, among the Wester- 
ham people, and you shall start afresh with bright 
prospects.” 

44 As for the rest,” Louis said, interpreting the 
anxious look at his mother and Freda, 44 I’m the 
man of the house, you know, until you get about 
again. Then I’ll resign in your favor. That was 
Mr. Howarth’s little girl that you saved, and he 
says I shall have all the help I need to get my 
education. But I’ve left school for the present, 
and I’m to work for him, and take care of you, 
until you get well.” 

44 You are used to that,” his father said. 44 It is 
very kind of Mr. Howarth ; but I shall be able to 
take care of my boy, I hope, and let him study as 
much as he likes, when I am well once more. I 
can’t make up for the past, and I am helpless in 
the present, but the future looks bright.” 

44 1 don’t see why you need be anxious about 
the present,” Mrs. Marten said. 44 Live one day 
at a time. I’m sure you have all you need for to- 
day, and what more do you want ? 4 A bird can 

roost on but one branch ; a mouse can drink no 
more than its fill from a river.’ ‘Enough is as 
good as a feast.’ Besides, you are the hero of the 
place, and everything in it is at your service,” 


348 


CECILS KNIGHT. 


“ Louis is the true hero,” Mr. Thorne said. “ It 
takes more heroism for such months of work and 
patience, than for the bold deed of a moment.” 

It was the turning-point in Louis’ career. Life 
lay smooth before him afterwards, and his way 
was easy ; but the discipline he had endured did 
for him what their chivalric training did for the 
knights of old. Through college, and law-school, 
and the battle of political life, he kept his armor 
braced, and his weapons keen and bright ; and no 
one who came in contact with him could doubt 
under what flag he fought. 

Years had passed, when, after a visit to Dr. 
Henry Lawrence, he came again to Mrs. Marten’s 
door. 

She had grown old and feeble, and did not 
recognize him. 

“ I came to thank you for the help you once 
gave me,” he said. 

“ Well,” she answered, “‘soon or late the strong 
needs the help of the weak ’ ; but it must have 
been such help as the mouse gave the lion, for I 
don’t remember it, or you, sir.” 

He had to introduce himself ; and after her first 
exclamations were over, she insisted on hearing 
all his history. 

“ I always said you would succeed,” she com- 
mented. “ Don’t you remember I did? ‘ A stone 
that is fit for the wall isn’t left by the way.’ And 


CECIL'S KNIGHT. 


349 


if you did have a hard time once, you’re none the 
worse for it now. ‘Smooth seas never made a 
skilful mariner.’ Oh, here comes Sophy and her 
husband ! ” 

With great pride she introduced them to “ Gov- 
ernor Thorne.” The two gentlemen looked at 
each other, and exclaimed together : — 

“ It’s Jim Burton ! ” 

“ It’s Lady Louisa ! ” 





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